ᕙ༼Keifer's༽ᕗPOV
Angelo shoved me aside with enough force to make me stumble, his face a mask of pure fury. He ripped the cupboard door open. There Jay Jay stood, swallowed up in my oversized hoodie that barely grazed her mid-thighs, her hair a mess and her eyes wide with terror.
The room exploded.
"What is this?!" Angelo roared, his voice shaking the windows. "You've been hiding in a closet? In his clothes? Are you out of your mind, Jay Jay?"
Aries stepped forward, his face turning a dark shade of purple. "Three days! We've been worried sick for three days, and you're here playing house with this guy? Do you have any idea how disrespectful this is to this family?"
"And in nothing but a hoodie!" Gemma chimed in, her voice shrill with shock. "Jay Jay, we raised you better than this! Look at yourself!"
Jay Jay didn't say a word. She bolted from the cupboard like a frightened kitten, diving behind my back and clutching the fabric of my shirt so hard her knuckles turned white. She was trembling violently, hiding her face against my spine.
"Get out from behind him!" Angelo commanded, reaching for her arm. "Move, Keifer, before I make you move."
But then, the sound changed. The shouting was drowned out by a sharp, ragged wheeze. Jay Jay began taking short, desperate gulps of air. Her chest was heaving against my back, her breath coming in jagged, terrifying hitches.
She was having a panic attack, her lungs seizing up under the weight of their judgment.
"Stop it!"i yelled over the noise,i feel her knees start to buckle behind me. "All of you, shut up! Look at her!"
Percy was the first to notice. "Angelo, stop. She can't breathe. Back up!"
Tita looked horrified, her anger instantly turning to motherly panic. "Jay Jay? Baby, look at me. Breathe Anak."
But Jay Jay was spiraling, her fingers digging into my waist as she fought for a single lungful of air.
"Get away from him!" Angelo reached out to grab her shoulder, but I stepped into his path, locking my knees. "Move, Keifer. I won't tell you again."
"She's sick, Angelo! Back off!" I snapped, but then Tita and Gemma started in.
"Jay Jay, look at your state!" Gemma cried, her hands thrown up. "In a man's house, dressed like that? Have you no shame?"
"Anak, come to me," Tita pleaded, but her voice was drowned out by Aries' constant berating.
Again, I felt it. The air behind me changed. A sharp, whistling sound—gasp, hitch, gasp.
Jay Jay wasn't just crying; she was suffocating. Her forehead pressed into my shoulder blade, and her breaths were coming in terrifying, jagged heaves.
"Stop it!" I yelled, my voice cracking with pure adrenaline. "All of you, shut the hell up! She can't breathe!"
"Don't you tell us—" Aries started, but I shoved his chest back to create space.
"Look at her!" I barked.
Jay Jay's grip on my shirt loosened as her knees hit the floor. She was hyperventilating, her eyes wide and glazed, her small hands clutching at her throat. The "strict" Angelo and the "grumpy" Aries froze, the color draining from their faces as they realized their shouting had pushed her over the edge.
"Jay Jay? Jay?" Angelo's voice dropped to a panicked whisper. "I... I didn't mean to..."
I dropped to my knees with her, shielding her from their sight. "Get back," I growled at them, my hand cupping the back of her head. "Give her air! Percy, get me a paper bag or some water, now!"
I watched the color drain from Angelo's face as he looked down at her hand. The IV site was bruised and trembling, a stark reminder that she wasn't just "hiding"—she was broken.
My heart twisted. I didn't care about their titles or their temper anymore. I grabbed my phone and dialed my family doctor, my voice shaking with a mix of fury and fear.
"She can't breathe," I told him, my eyes locked on Jay Jay's pale face. "The IV is back in, she's hyperventilating... what do I do?"
The doctor's voice was calm, but his words were a heavy weight.
"Keifer, she doesn't need medicine right now. She needs stability. She needs the person who makes her feel safe. If you pull away now, her body will keep reacting."
The room went silent as the doctor's words hung in the air. Even Aries stopped scowling. They all looked at her—not as the CEO, not as the "Ice Queen" who ran boards and made millions, but as a fragile girl in an oversized hoodie, clutching the back of my shirt for dear life.
"Look at her, Angelo," I said, my voice low and dangerous. "She's being exactly who you want her to be out there—the stone-cold leader, the perfect daughter. But not here. In this room, she's just Jay Jay. Please... just let her be herself."
Angelo looked at her fragile, IV-bruised hand, his eyes finally softening with a flash of guilt. He looked at me, then back at his sister, who was still gasping for air against my spine.
"She's scared of you," I whispered, the truth cutting through the room like a knife. "You're her brothers, but right now, you're just the people making it hard for her to breathe."
Tita let out a sob, covering her mouth, while Percy stepped back, his eyes full of pity. The brothers were standing at a crossroads.
I didn't give them a chance to say another word. I reached down and swept Jay Jay up in a bridal carry, her small, trembling frame feeling weightless in my arms. The silk of my hoodie bunched up as she buried her face into the crook of my neck, her breath still coming in those terrifying, ragged hitches.
I pushed past Angelo and Aries without looking at them, walking straight out onto the balcony. The cool night air hit us instantly, a sharp contrast to the suffocating tension inside.
"Shh, I've got you," I whispered, my voice thick with emotion. I sat down on the outdoor lounge, keeping her tucked tightly against my chest. I pressed a long, lingering kiss to the top of her head, then her temple, over and over. "You're safe. It's just us. Breathe with me, Jay Jay. Just follow my chest."
Inside the room, the silence was deafening. Through the glass doors, I could see them—the formidable brothers, the worried mother, the friends—standing like statues. For the first time in their lives, they looked completely powerless. Angelo's hands were shoved deep in his pockets, his shoulders hunched, while Aries stood by the bed, staring at the floor, his "grumpy" armor finally shattered.
They watched through the glass as I rocked her gently, my hand stroking her hair to keep her grounded. Slowly, the frantic rise and fall of her shoulders began to even out. The fresh air and the contact were working better than any sedative.
"They're still there, aren't they?" she whispered into my skin, her voice tiny and raw.
"They are," I murmured, tightening my grip. "But they aren't coming out here. Not until you're ready."
I nodded slowly when they suggested Angelo Aries Percy stay behind. It was a compromise I could live with—they were the gentlest of the group, and Jay Jay needed softness right now, not the brothers' heavy-handed protection.
I carried her back inside, the room finally quiet as Angelo and Aries retreated into the hallway, looking defeated. I lowered her onto the bed, the mattress dipping under her slight weight. I didn't just tuck her in; I wrapped her back in her "silk shield," making sure the cool fabric covered her completely, leaving only her pale face and that bruised, IV-marked hand visible.
The second I tried to pull away to give Tita space, Jay Jay's fingers clamped around my wrist with surprising strength. Her eyes, still glassy from the panic, locked onto mine with a silent, desperate plea.
"Don't," she whispered, her voice barely a thread. "Stay."
"I'm right here," I promised, sitting on the edge of the bed and lacing my fingers through hers. I looked up at Tita and Cin, who were standing by the door, watching us with sad, knowing smiles. They could see it now—the "Ice Queen" had melted, and I was the only thing keeping her from evaporating entirely.
Tita stepped closer, reaching out to stroke Jay Jay's hair. "We'll stay in the guest room, Keifer. Just... keep her safe. We didn't realize how much she was carrying."
Jay Jay didn't look at them; she just squeezed my hand tighter, her breathing finally syncing with mine as she drifted toward a much-needed, exhausted sleep.
The room was finally silent, the heavy weight of her family's presence replaced by the soft hum of the air conditioner. Jay Jay looked exhausted, her skin still pale from the IV, and I knew she needed to feel human again.
"I'm not getting in a tub, Keifer," she mumbled, her eyes half-closed. "Too much work."
"I know," I whispered, "Just a sponge bath. It'll help."
I was careful, using warm water to gently wipe away the sweat and the lingering scent of hospital stress, avoiding the sensitive spot where the IV had been. She let out a long, shaky sigh as the warmth hit her skin, her body finally beginning to uncoil from the tension of the confrontation.
When I finished, I reached for one of my fresh, clean shirts to dress her. But as I tried to slip her arms into the sleeves, she let out a soft, stubborn groan. Her small hand reached up, pushing the fabric away.
"No," she murmured, her voice thick with sleep. "I don't want the shirt."
Before I could protest—thinking of Angelo's strict 'rules' just outside the door—she reached for the buttons of the shirt I was wearing. Her fingers were clumsy but determined, popping the top three buttons open.
"Jay Jay, your brothers—"
"Shh," she shushed me, pulling herself up just enough to tuck her head directly against my bare chest, her ear right over my heart. She curled her legs into mine, anchoring herself to me like I was the only solid thing left in the world. "I need to hear you. The rules don't matter when I can't breathe without you."
I looked at the door, knowing Tita or Angelo could walk in at any second, but as her breathing slowed into a deep, rhythmic slumber against my skin, I couldn't bring myself to move. I wrapped the silk sheet over both of us, shielding her from the world.
Tita's POV
I stood in the doorway, the light from the hallway spilling across the floor. My heart was heavy, filled with a mother's worry that Angelo's harsh rules and the earlier shouting had broken her spirit further. I just wanted to see her—to see if my Jay Jay was finally resting.
The sight that met my eyes made me catch my breath.
The room was bathed in a soft, warm glow. There they were. My daughter, the girl the world saw as a powerful, untouchable "Ice Queen," was stripped of everything. She was lying against Keifer's bare??barechest, not a single stitch of clothing on her, yet she didn't look exposed—she looked protected.
In the silence of the midnight hour, she looked more peaceful than I had seen her in years, as if his heartbeat was the only lullaby she needed to drown out the noise of the outside world.
I stepped closer, my feet silent on the carpet. I reached out a trembling hand, wanting to feel the warmth of her forehead, to check if the fever had truly broken. But as my fingers neared her, Jay Jay flinched in her sleep. A small, pained whimper escaped her lips, her body tensing as if she were back in that cupboard, hiding from the world.
Before I could even react, Keifer's eyes flew open. He didn't look at me with fear; he looked at her with a fierce, protective focus.
Without a word, he tightened his grip, pulling her smaller frame even deeper into his heat. He tucked her head under his chin and began to kiss her forehead and whisper against her hair, a low, grounding rumble.
"It's okay... you're safe, Jay Jay. I've got you. You're okay.you are with me love".
As I watched, her body instantly went limp again, her breathing evening out the moment she realized it was him. She didn't wake up; she just anchored herself to his heart. I pulled my hand back, a lump forming in my throat.
I realized then that my daughter didn't need her mother's touch or her brothers' protection tonight. She only needed him.
I backed away toward the door, my heart finally at ease.