Keifer's POV
The rain hammered against the reinforced glass windows of the majestic Fernandez estate, blurring the city lights into streaks of cold neon.
Inside the main study, the atmosphere was suffocatingly tense. I stood near the doorway, my hands trembling slightly as the sheer weight of my restored memories pressed down on my chest. The fog was entirely gone, but the clarity brought an agonizing realization of how badly I had broken the woman I loved.
Angelo sat behind his massive mahogany desk, his expression unreadable, radiating a lethal authority. Standing flanking him were Aries and Percy. None of them looked at me with anything less than pure hatred.
"Take her with you, Keifer," Angelo said, his deep, gravelly voice breaking the silence.
I blinked, momentarily paralyzed by his words. "What?" I stammered, my mind spinning into deep confusion. "Angelo... what do you mean?"
"Don't," Angelo snapped, his eyes flashing with dangerous anger. He leaned forward, resting his clasped hands on the desk. "Someone is actively trying to kill Jay Jay. For the past few weeks, before she could even find out or panic, Percy has been handling them quietly in the shadows. But the threats are multiplying. We want her safe, and the city is no longer a viable fortress for her."
"No! Absolute hell no, kuya!" Aries interrupted, slamming his fist onto the edge of the desk. The wood groaned under the impact. He whipped around to glare at me, his face twisted in fury. "Are you insane? We are giving her to him? This monster ignored her for months. She took a blade to save his family, and he treated her like garbage. Now we're just handing our sister over to the person who broke her spirit? I'd rather fight every single assassin myself!"
"Aries, shut up and think practically for once!" Percy commanded, his sharp voice cutting through the room like a scalpel. He stepped forward, placing a firm, stabilizing hand on Aries' tense shoulder.
"Don't tell me to be practical, Percy! He doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as her!" Aries hissed, shaking off the grip.
"Look at the data, Aries," Percy countered smoothly, his tone icy and grounded in reality. "We can't keep her safe here when we are dealing with an influx of factions who want her dead. If she stays in the city, she is a static target. We will be tied down defending her apartment instead of hunting the threats.
Keifer can make her safe. He has the resources, and more importantly, he is the only one who can take her to that private island. It's completely off the grid. No one else knows it exists except the two of them."
Angelo stood up slowly, drawing all the air out of the room. He walked around the desk until he was standing directly in front of me. The sheer murderous intent rolling off him made my lungs burn, but I didn't back down. I deserved whatever punishment they wanted to inflict.
"We are letting you take her because we care about our sister's survival above all else," Angelo whispered, his voice vibrating with a terrifying promise of violence. "We will not put her in danger while we handle this mess. But do not mistake this for forgiveness, Keifer. If she loses a single hair on her head under your watch, I will personally dismantle your world."
"I will turn the sky red before I let anyone touch her," I swore, my voice ringing with unyielding certainty. "I remember everything now. She is my entire world."
Angelo stared into my eyes for a long, agonizing moment before turning away. "Go. Take her before the sectors shift."
Thirty minutes later, I unlocked the door to Jay Jay's quiet apartment. The air inside smelled faintly of vanilla and old books—a scent that immediately pierced my heart with nostalgia.
I walked quietly into her bedroom. The room was dark, illuminated only by the distant flash of lightning outside. There she lay, buried beneath a mountain of blankets, completely dead to the world. The brutal twenty-one-day exam marathon had pushed her body to its absolute limits. She hadn't been avoiding me out of spite; she was just entirely, profoundly tired.
"I'm so sorry, my marshmallow," I breathed, a solitary tear escaping my eye as I knelt beside the bed.
Carefully, as if she were made of the finest glass, I slid my arms beneath her knees and her back. I lifted her up against my chest. She was terrifyingly light. She stirred slightly, letting out a soft, tired sigh, her head naturally lrolling into the crook of my neck, but she didn't wake. The sheer exhaustion kept her locked in a deep slumber.
Holding her tightly, I carried her out of the bedroom, down the quiet hallway, and out to my waiting car. I laid her gently across the plush, heated leather of the back seat, securing a soft blanket over her shoulders before closing the door with a quiet click. As I got into the driver's seat and started the engine, I looked at her peaceful face in the rearview mirror.
She had no idea she was leaving the city, or that we were heading to her hidden paradise, but I knew one thing for certain—I would protect her with my life.
Keifer's POV
The early morning sun was just beginning to touch the horizon, casting a soft, golden glow over the private island villa. I stood silently near the glass balcony doors, watching the only woman who mattered to me.
Jay Jay lay buried beneath a mountain of cream-colored, plush blankets. She looked impossibly small in the center of the massive, circular bed. The room was bathed in a warm, amber light from the fairy strings woven across the wooden ceiling beams and around her built-in bookshelf nook.
Candles flickered softly on the bedside tables, filling the air with a faint scent of vanilla.Then, she moved.My heart skipped a beat as she stirred, letting out a tiny, soft sigh that sounded exactly like a lazy, cute kitten waking up from a long afternoon nap.
She shifted slightly onto her side, stretching her arms above her head in a slow, fluid motion. Her nose crinkled in that adorable way it always did when she was entirely relaxed.Instead of opening her eyes, she buried her face deeper into the oversized, fluffy white pillow.
She wrapped both her arms and legs around it, hugging it tightly against her chest as if she were anchoring herself to the dreamworld.I felt a sudden, ridiculous pang of jealousy.Lucky pillow, I thought, a bittersweet smile tugging at the corner of my lips.
I wanted to be the one she was holding onto like that. I wanted to be the anchor that kept her feeling safe and warm. But for now, just seeing her breathe easily, away from the dangers of the city and the exhaustion of her exams, was enough.
I remained perfectly still, refusing to make a sound that might break her peace.
Jay Jay's POV
Mmm... warm.
That was the very first thing my brain registered as the heavy fog of sleep slowly began to lift. I didn't want to open my eyes. I didn't even want to move a single toe.
Everything around me felt like a giant, fluffy cloud. The mattress beneath me was impossibly soft, and the blanket covering my shoulders felt like a warm, heavy hug.
But right now? There was no ticking clock.
There was no stress. There was only the gentle, rhythmic sound of distant ocean waves softly crashing against a shore.I am never waking up, I decided, a tiny, lazy smile forming on my face. They can give me a zero on the next test. I am staying right here forever.
I stretched my legs out, rubbing my feet against the incredibly soft fabric of the sheets.
I curled my body into a tight ball, burying my nose into the pillow. It smelled clean, like fresh sea air and a faint hint of a masculine cologne that felt strangely, comforting habit.
I squeezed the pillow even tighter, letting out a content little hum as I drifted back into a light, cozy daze, entirely oblivious to the rest of the world.
Keifer's POV
Three hours passed, and I hadn't moved an inch from my spot near the balcony. The sun was now fully up, pouring bright, golden light over the soft circular rugs and lighting up the thousands of fairy lights spanning the wooden beams.
Jay Jay stirred again. This time, it wasn't the lazy, kitten-like stretch from earlier. Her long eyelashes fluttered, and then, her big eyes snapped wide open.
For three seconds, she just stared blankly at the arched bookshelf nook, trying to process the warm candles and the unfamiliar luxury of the room. Then, reality hit her. She bolted upright, her eyes going wide as saucers.
"AAAHHHHHHH!"
A piercing, high-pitched scream ripped through the cozy quiet of the room. She grabbed the plush duvet, pulling it all the way up to her chin, her knuckles turning white.
I winced slightly, taking a calm step forward from the shadows of the glass doors.
"Why are you screaming?" I asked, my voice soft, trying to sound as unthreatening as possible.
She flinched, her gaze whipping over to me. Her mouth fell open, her chest heaving as she looked at me like I was a ghost. "Keifer?! Where... where did you take me?! Where am I?!" She looked around the room frantically, her breathing speeding up. "Are you planning to do something to me?!"
The sheer absurdity of the question caught me off guard. Despite the heavy guilt in my chest, a small, involuntary smirk tugged at the corner of my lips. "Like I never did," I murmured, keeping my tone teasingly low.
"W–what?!" she gasped, her cheeks instantly flushing a bright, furious pink.
I watched her squeeze her eyes shut, her face changing through a dozen different emotions in a matter of seconds. I could practically hear the gears turning in her chaotic mind.
Even while panicking, she looked so incredibly cute that it took everything in me not to rush over and pull her into my arms. But the sharp glare she gave me right after reminded me of the reality—she was still deeply upset with me, and I had a mountain of mistakes to make up for.
Jay Jay's POV
Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!
My heart was hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. Why am I here?! Did he kidnap me? Is he taking advantage of me right now?! We are completely alone in this insanely romantic, candle-lit bedroom! What if he's planning something bad?!
But then, a sharp, random realization popped into my brain, completely derailing my own panic.
Wait... Jay Jay, what are you even thinking? He already saw everything. I literally have nothing left to hide from him anyway! Why am I acting like a pure, innocent maiden in a historical drama?!
But wait! What if this is a survival horror game? What if he brought me here to test my survival skills in the wild? I don't even know how to build a fire! The only thing I can successfully cook is instant noodles! Is he going to force me to forage for berries?! I can barely tell the difference between a blueberry and a poisonous nightshade!
Still, the sheer panic of waking up in a completely different territory overrode my common sense. I looked around the room, trying to find a weapon, but everything was just so stupidly soft and aesthetically pleasing.
"This is it. This is how it ends," I whispered out loud, my voice trembling as I peeked through my fingers at the beautiful, warm bedroom.
"Youbrought me to a luxurious dungeon. Are you going to sell my organs? Is that why you let me sleep for so long? To preserve my liver?!"
Keifer's POV
I stared at her, completely dumbfounded by the absolute nonsense flying out of her mouth.
"Your liver, marshmallow? Really?"
"Don't call me that!" she yelled, her lower lip trembling as a flash of real hurt and anger crossed her face. The defensive walls she had built over the last few months came rushing back. She threw a fluffy pillow straight at my face. I caught it effortlessly. "You brought me to an isolated paradise room! Why is everything so cozy if I'm a hostage?! The exams just ended, Keifer! I survived twenty-one days of pure academic torture just to get kidnapped by you?!"
"Jay, breathe," I said, walking closer and setting the pillow down on the edge of the mattress. I kept my hands visible, showing her she was completely safe, though the sadness in her eyes cut me deep. "Look outside the glass doors. You aren't a hostage, and no one is stealing your organs. I promise."
She blinked, her lower lip trembling as she cautiously glanced past me toward the balcony. The sight of the endless, sparkling blue ocean and the private white-sand beach finally registered in her frantic mind. Her jaw dropped.
"Wait..." she murmured, her voice dropping into a confused, tiny whisper as her anger momentarily faltered. "This ocean... those palm trees... is this the island?"
"Yes," I softly replied, my eyes locked on her face, aching to close the distance between us. "The one I gifted you. No one else knows the coordinates. You're safe here, Jay Jay."
She looked from the ocean, to the beautiful room, and finally back to me, her eyes narrowing as a pout formed on her lips. She was still upset, her arms crossing tightly over her chest. "But... but how did I get here? I was literally in my own bed three seconds ago! You can't just carry me away whenever you want, Keifer!"