Morning came quietly to Keifer's mansion, sunlight slipping through half-drawn curtains like it didn't want to interrupt anything important.
The living room was a mess—empty mugs, a forgotten jacket, Percy asleep on one end of the couch with his arm thrown over his eyes. Aries was sitting on the floor, back against the sofa, scrolling mindlessly on his phone. Keifer stood by the window, coffee untouched in his hand.
None of them mentioned the night.
Not because it didn't matter—but because it mattered too much.
Percy woke first, stretching and groaning. "My back officially hates me."
Aries smirked. "You chose the couch, drama king."
Percy glanced around, then his expression softened. "But… it feels normal again."
He paused. "Doesn't it?"
Keifer turned from the window. "Yeah," he said honestly. "It does."
There was no big speech this time. No apologies. Just a quiet understanding that something had shifted.
Later that morning, work pulled them back into reality.
Wedding preparations waited for no one.
Designers arrived. Phones rang endlessly. Someone argued about flowers. Someone else panicked over seating arrangements. Jay's laughter echoed down the hallway at one point, light and bright, and Keifer felt his chest ease just a little.
Aries caught him staring and nudged his shoulder. "You okay?"
Keifer nodded. "Yeah. Just… grateful."
Percy watched them both, a small smile on his face.
"For what it's worth," he said, "whatever happened to us before—let's not do that again."
Aries held out his fist. "Deal."
Keifer placed his hand over both of theirs. "No disappearing. No blaming. No silence."
They stood there for a second longer than necessary, three grown men holding onto a promise they should've made years ago.
And somewhere between the chaos of wedding plans and the quiet echoes of last night, they finally understood something:
Friendship doesn't come back all at once.
It comes back in mornings like this—awkward, honest, and still choosing each other.
Jay's POV —
I noticed it before anyone said anything.
It wasn't loud. It wasn't obvious. It was in the way Keifer's shoulders weren't tense anymore, in the way Aries laughed without that sharp edge, in how Percy didn't look like he was bracing himself to disappear again.
The house felt… warmer.
I stood near the staircase, watching them argue over seating charts like it was a life-or-death situation.
No, Percy, you cannot put yourself next to the buffet," Aries snapped.
Percy shrugged. "I deserve easy access to food."
Keifer rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. Actually smiling.
That was new.
I walked closer. "What did you boys do last night?"
Three heads turned toward me at once. There was a look—shared, silent, meaningful.
"Nothing," Keifer said too quickly.
"Mhm," I hummed. "That's never a good sign
Aries cleared his throat. "We… talked."
I looked at them properly then. Really looked. The invisible walls I'd felt for months—maybe years—weren't there anymore.
Percy met my eyes. "We're okay now, Jay."
Something in my chest loosened. I hadn't realized how much their brokenness had weighed on me too.
"I'm glad," I said softly. "You all deserve that."
Keifer reached for my hand, his thumb brushing my knuckles in that absent-minded way he did when he was calm. Safe.
"Thank you," he murmured. Not just for today—but for staying, for believing, for holding everything together when they couldn't.
Later, when the chaos died down and the house finally breathed again, I found Keifer alone in our room.
He was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at nothing.
I sat beside him. "You look lighter."
He let out a quiet laugh. "I feel lighter."
Then, slowly, his smile faded.
"There's just one thing," he said.
I waited.
"Yuri should've been here, maybe I just wish he could realise what he did was wrong, but after all he is my bestfriend jay, he wasnt like that before, even he had his secrets but I can't help it, at some point I miss him."
I rested my head on his shoulder. "Some people can't stay in our lives," I whispered. "Even if we miss who they used to be."
Keifer nodded, pressing his forehead to mine.
So did I.
Because love doesn't always mean holding on.
Sometimes it means letting go—and choosing peace instead.
Later that afternoon
The doorbell rang just after noon.
I was sitting beside Keifer, sorting invitation cards, when the sound echoed through the mansion—firm, deliberate. The kind that carried meaning.
Keifer looked up. "That'll be them."
When the doors opened, Tita Gemma stepped in first, her face warm but serious. Angelo followed, hands in his pockets. And behind them—
My father.
For a second, I just stared.
Then everything else disappeared.
"Papa!"
I didn't think. I just ran.
I jumped into his arms like I was still a little girl waiting at the gate, and he caught me with a surprised laugh, holding me tight. The smell of travel, of something familiar and far away, wrapped around me.
"You're really here," I said, my voice muffled against his shoulder.
I wouldn't miss your wedding," he replied softly, his hand resting on my back. "Not for anything."
When we pulled apart, my eyes were already burning.
My mother entered last, stopping a little too far away from him. She didn't look at him. He didn't try to meet her gaze.
That was how it always was.
Tita Gemma cleared her throat gently. "We're taking Jay with us—for a few days."
Keifer frowned slightly. "Taking her?"
It's a pre-wedding ritual," Angelo explained. "She stays with family. Clears her heart before the ceremony."
I glanced at my father. He nodded, a little awkward, like he wasn't sure how much space he was allowed to take in my life anymore.
"I flew in from the UK for this," he said. "I wanted to be here… before everything begins."
Keifer turned to me, voice low. "Only if you want to."
I hesitated, then smiled. "I'll go. Just for a little while."
I packed lightly. When I came back downstairs, Keifer was waiting near the door.
He pulled me into a hug, steady and grounding.
"Go," he murmured. "I'll be right here."
I squeezed him once more before stepping away.
As we walked out, I glanced back.
Keifer hadn't moved.
And as my father placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, I realized something—
Even with distance, even with broken spaces, some bonds still knew exactly how to hold you.
The car slowed as the familiar gates of the Fernandes house came into view.
I hadn't been here often—Angelo kept his world private—but the place felt solid, lived-in. Not flashy. Not cold. Just… steady. Like him.
As soon as we stepped inside, Angelo moved ahead without saying much. He unlocked the door, then paused, glancing back at me like he was checking if I was okay.
"Your room's ready," he said. "Same one as before."
Tita Gemma placed her bag down and looked around approvingly. "This house has good energy," she said. "It'll be good for her."
My father stood near the window, hands clasped behind his back, taking everything in quietly—like a guest in a life he wasn't fully part of. My mother stayed on the opposite side of the room, her silence heavy but controlled.
Kuya followed me towards my room
Upstairs, the room was simple—light curtains, neatly made bed, fresh flowers on the table. Nothing overwhelming. Nothing demanding.
"You can rest," Angelo said, standing near the door. "No pressure. No rules today."
I looked at him. Really looked.
"You're being… nice."
A small smile tugged at his lips. "Don't tell anyone. Ruins my reputation."
Then, more seriously, "You're safe here, Jay."
That did something to me.
Downstairs, voices murmured softly—Tita Gemma talking, my father listening, my mother quiet as ever. For once, no raised voices. No sharp edges.
Angelo lingered a moment longer.
"If you need anything," he said, "I'm right here."
When he left, I sat on the bed and finally let myself breathe.
I missed Keifer already.
But as sunlight poured through the window and the house settled around me, I realized—
This place wasn't taking me away from love.
It was holding me until I was ready to return
Night settled softly over the Fernandes house.
Everyone had gone quiet—Tita Gemma in prayer, my father asleep early from travel exhaustion, my mother somewhere behind a closed door, unreadable as ever. Even the house itself seemed to lower its voice.
I sat on the edge of the bed, phone in my hands.
I told myself not to call.
I called anyway.
It rang once. Twice.
Then—
"Jay?"
His voice.
My chest tightened instantly. "Hi."
There was a pause, the kind that meant he was smiling. "You reached safely."
"Yeah," I said. "Angelo's house is… calm. Surprisingly."
A soft chuckle. "He pretends to be stone. He's not."
I lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "I miss you."
Another pause—longer this time. Gentler.
"I know," Keifer said. "I miss you too."
could picture him perfectly: probably standing near the window, phone pressed to his ear, the mansion too quiet without me in it.
"Did you eat?" he asked.
I smiled. "Tita Gemma made sure I did. You?"
"Barely," he admitted. "The house feels weird."
That made my heart ache in a quiet way.
"I didn't want to leave," I whispered.
"I know," he said, without hesitation. "But I'm proud of you for going."
I closed my eyes. "Promise me you won't overwork yourself."
He laughed softly. "Only if you promise to come back."
"I will," I said. "Soon."
There was a smile in his voice now. "Then I'll wait."
We stayed like that for a moment—not talking, just breathing on opposite ends of the line.
Before hanging up, he said, "Jay?"
"Hmm?"
"Whatever this ritual asks of you," he said gently, "remember—you're already enough."
My throat tightened. "Goodnight, Keifer."
Goodnight, wifey" he replied. "Come back to me."
The call ended, but the warmth stayed.
And for the first time since leaving the mansion, I slept without the ache feeling so heavy.