Jay's POV
The sun was too bright. It poked at my eyelids until I groggily shifted, expecting to feel the familiar rhythm of Aries' heartbeat beneath my cheek. Instead, my head hit the velvet cushion of the sofa.
The space beside me was empty, though the lingering scent of sandalwood and grilled cheese remained.
The kitchen was already alive with the clinking of porcelain and the divine, salty aroma of crispy bacon and fluffy pancakes.
My stomach gave a treacherous growl, reminding me that the CEO of a multinational company was currently being ruled by a very hungry Section E girl.
I scrambled upstairs, stripping off my Snorlax shirt and splashing cold water on my face. I didn't reach for the silk blouses or the tailored slacks today. I pulled my school uniform.
When I bounded back downstairs, the dining room was already a chaotic scene of domestic bliss.
"If you touch that last blueberry pancake, Keiren, I will personally see to it that you're banned from the kitchen for a week," Aries threatened, wielding a spatula like a holy sword.
"Possessive much?" Keiren snickered, dodging Aries' reach and sliding into a chair. "I'm a growing boy, Kuya Aries. I need brain food to survive your brother's intensity."
"You're a bottomless pit," I chimed in, sliding into the seat next to Angelo.
"Jay-jay! The sleeper awakens!" Keiren grinned, piling eggs onto his plate. "You look like you actually slept for once, Ate . Did the Mariano meeting go that well, or did you just pass out from boredom?"
I felt Angelo's gaze soften beside me as he set down his coffee. "You were dead to the world on the couch this morning," he said, his voice carrying that same warmth I'd heard in his whisper hours ago. "I assume the gala was... productive?"
I took a long sip of orange juice, the cool liquid steadying my nerves. "It was fine," I said, keeping my tone light and professional. "Very formal. Very... corporate. A lot of handshakes and empty smiles. The usual Mariano business." Aries gave me a assuring node.
I didn't mention the shattered glass, the look on Clyde's face, or the way I had left Keifer standing in the wreckage of his own heart. In this room, under the watchful, fatherly eye of Angelo and the teasing banter of the boys, those things felt like a lifetime ago.
"Formal and fine? Sounds like a nightmare," Keiren shuddered, stuffing a piece of bacon into his mouth. "I'd rather stay here and fight Aries Kuya for the syrup."
"You aren't fighting anyone," Aries grumbled, finally placing a fresh stack of pancakes in front of me—extra syrup, just the way I liked it. "Eat, Piggy. You have a long day of 'being a student' ahead of you."
"I'm not piggy , Aries.Kuya look he is calling me Piggy ",I said complaining to Kuya making a pout.
"Ate, you made a pout, are you a child",Keiren said laughing.
"If you all done with your nonsense , eat your food quietly ",Angelo said in his firm voice with glaring eyes.Everyone started eating , quietly.
I looked at the three of them—the brother and the cousin who had become my pillars. For a moment, the weight of JJM and the looming shadow of the Watsons felt light.
After a breakfast filled with Keiren trying to steal Aries fruit ,I stealing Kuya Angelo food but he ignored it and quietly made sure I ate every bite. I grabbed my bag. The transition from the girl on the couch to the girl at school was easier today. I had my shield, not made of gold or shares, but of the people in this room.
As I stepped into the crisp morning air, my phone vibrated in my pocket. A message from an unknown number— maybe Keifer. I didn't open it. I simply locked the screen, straightened my shoulders, and headed toward the one place where I could pretend, for just a few hours, that I was just Jay-jay.