AUTHOR POV
The reality of the real world finally crashed into the cozy island cottage an hour later. While Jay Jay was busy inspecting her "paralyzed" pinky toe on the sofa, the three men were glued to their tablets and phones, which had suddenly regained full cellular signal.
Keifer looked down at the mounting stack of urgent notifications on his screen. His expression shifted from relaxed to deeply stressed.
"It's being too long" Angelo stated, looking up from his tablet with a stern, military-grade expression. "You've been completely off the grid on this island for days, Keifer. Your board of directors is having a collective panic attack. You are the CEO of four multi-national corporations, and the Philippines headquarters is currently in a state of absolute chaos."
Keifer pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a heavy sigh. "I know. I've delayed the quarterly mergers twice already. I can't push it another day."
"We all have to head back to Manila immediately," Aries muttered, shoving his phone into his pocket. He glanced toward the sofa where Jay Jay was listening intently, his eyes softening for a split second before returning to his usual gruff glare. "I have a security crisis at the shipping ports, and Percy's fashion gala is apparently falling apart without his 'artistic direction'."
"It is a literal tragedy," Percy gasped, dramatically clutching his chest. "If I am not there to supervise the seating arrangements, society will collapse. But what about the Watson threat? We can't leave the cottage unguarded."
Angelo stood up, adjusting his watch. His terrifyingly strict, no-nonsense aura instantly filled the room. "I'll stay behind on the island with Jay Jay. My team has already secured the perimeter, and I can manage my operations remotely for the next twenty-four hours. Keifer, you fly out with Aries and Percy now, finish the emergency board meetings, and you can return tomorrow afternoon."
Keifer looked over at the sofa, his heart sinking. He didn't want to leave her for a single second—especially not now. "Just one day," he muttered. "I'll handle the paperwork and fly straight back."
The moment the word leave left Keifer's mouth, Jay Jay's mischievous grin completely vanished. For the first time all day, she didn't throw a loud tantrum. She knew how massive his responsibilities were. She knew the livelihood of thousands of employees depended on him.
But her heart desperately hated it.
With quiet, urgent speed, she scrambled off the couch, her bare feet pattering softly across the floor. Before Keifer could stand up, she slid directly onto his lap, burying her face forcefully into his neck. Her small arms locked around his neck, and her legs wrapped tightly around his waist, latching onto him like a stubborn, unbreakable koala.
She didn't say a single word. She just squeezed him tighter and tighter, her small frame trembling slightly.
"Jay?" Keifer whispered, his arms instantly wrapping around her lower back to hold her secure. He felt the sudden, hot dampness of her tears pressing against his collarbone. "Hey... what's wrong, Queen?"
Jay Jay just shook her head against his skin, refusing to speak. She knew if she opened her mouth, she would beg him to stay, and she was trying to be a big girl for his sake. Instead, she just snuggled deeper into his chest, her fingers clutching the back of his shirt as if he were about to vanish into thin air.
"Oh, look at this. Now the Queen is a leaky faucet," Aries grumbled, though his tone was unusually quiet, his hidden protective side making him look slightly uncomfortable at her tears.
"It is a beautifully tragic display of affection," Percy murmured, wiping a non-existent tear from his eye. "The oversized blue t-shirt really adds to the pathetic aesthetic. It's very cinematic."
Keifer's heart melted into absolute mush. He rocked her gently in the chair, burying his face in her hair. "Princess, look at me. Just for twenty-four hours. I'll make the pilots fly at maximum speed on the way back."
Jay Jay finally pulled her face back, her eyes heavily pooled with dramatic, glassy tears, her lower lip wobbling uncontrollably. She sniffed loudly, looking like the most pathetic, beautiful, spoiled kitten in the world.
"I am not... I am not saying you can't go," she whispered, her voice incredibly thick and emotional. "I know your companies are important. But... but twenty-four hours is precisely 1,440 minutes of absolute torture for me. Who is going to carry me when my legs refuse to work? Who is going to feed me my grapes?"
She peeked over Keifer's shoulder, her teary eyes darting toward Angelo, who was standing like a rigid steel statue, his arms crossed over his chest.
Angelo was the stricter-than-life Kuya figure of their group. He didn't tolerate nonsense, he didn't care about royal tantrums, and his intense gaze alone could make a grown mercenary sweat. Jay Jay was secretly terrified of his strict rules, but her inner mischievous brat simply couldn't be fully suppressed.
"And worse," Jay Jay whimpered loudly, pointing a trembling, accusatory finger at Angelo while hiding half her face behind Keifer's neck. "You are leaving me with him. He is going to make me follow a schedule! He's going to make me eat vegetables! Keifer, he doesn't even smile! What if his face freezes like that permanently and terrifies your future children?!"
Angelo's eyebrow twitched. He stepped forward, his heavy boots thudding against the floorboards, causing Jay Jay to instantly squeak and bury her face right back into Keifer's chest.
"Jay Jay," Angelo said, his deep, booming voice ringing with absolute authority. "I can hear you. And yes, you will be eating a proper dinner tonight. No gummy bears. No cookies. And absolutely no jumping off the kitchen counters."
"See?!" Jay Jay whispered frantically against Keifer's ear, her voice full of dramatic panic. "He's a dictator! A tyrant! He is going to oppress your favorite queen!"
Keifer couldn't help but chuckle softly, his hands rubbing soothing circles down her back. "Angelo Kuya will take good care of you, Jay. Just listen to him, okay? Don't give him a headache while I'm gone."
Jay Jay let out a long, tragic sigh, realizing her fate was sealed. She slowly unclasped her legs from around Keifer's waist, letting him stand up, though she made sure to dramatically drag her feet as she moved over to the sofa. She sat down, pulling the giant blue t-shirt completely over her knees, looking like a tiny, disgruntled blue blob.
She glared at Angelo with a mix of genuine fear and stubborn mischief, sticking her tongue out at him the very second Keifer turned his back to grab his bags.
Angelo saw it, of course. He simply raised an eyebrow, his strict expression unwavering. "I saw that. Ten minutes of extra reading time added to your evening schedule."
"Keifer!" Jay Jay wailed dramatically, throwing her hands in the air. "He's already practicing psychological warfare!"
Keifer just laughed, walking over to press one final, deeply romantic kiss onto her forehead.
"Be good, my mischievous kitten. I'll be back tomorrow with double-chocolate croissants."
"Stop talking like you have a right on her."A voice came from Jay Jay's brother and keifer knew very well who's voice is this.
As the three men walked out the door toward the waiting helicopter, Jay Jay huddled inside the giant blue shirt, already plotting exactly how she was going to drive her strict Angelo Kuya completely insane for the next twenty-four hours.
Angelo's POV
I stared at my laptop screen, but my fingers completely stopped typing. My face remained a rigid, stoic mask, but internally, my brain was short-circuiting. On paper, everything was under control. My elite security units had successfully fortified the perimeter. Every entry point to the island cottage was locked down. The Watson family wouldn't be able to breathe near this property without me knowing about it.
Yet, my tactical training was completely useless against the chaotic force currently rustling in the living room.
Thump.
I didn't even lift my head from the security blueprint. "Jay Jay. Get off the coffee table."
"I am not on the table, Kuya!" her voice echoed back, dripping with a totally unconvincing sweetness. "I am merely hovering over it. Technically, my feet are on the cushions!"
I slowly closed my laptop screen. I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling a massive headache blooming right behind my eyes. I turned my chair around, leveling my most terrifying, cold military glare toward the living room.
Jay Jay was currently balancing on the narrow wooden armrest of the sofa. The hem of Keifer's giant blue t-shirt was bunched up in her small hands. She was waving a long peacock feather through the air like a sword, her eyes glittering with unadulterated, stubborn mischief.
"Down. Floor. Now," I commanded, my deep voice ringing with absolute authority.
Jay Jay pouted magnificent rolls of defiance.
She slowly, dramatically slid her feet off the armrest until her bare toes touched the rug.
"You are entirely too strict, Kuya. This is a cottage, not a military barracks. Keifer lets me explore the vertical spaces."
"Keifer isn't here," I countered flatly, crossing my massive arms over his chest. "I am. And my rules are simple: stay on the flat ground where you cannot fall and fracture your skull. Sit on the couch. Read a book."
"Fine," she huffed, crossing her arms defensively to match my posture. She looked like a tiny, disgruntled blue blob. "I am sitting. See? Look at me being a perfectly obedient, docile citizen."
I gave her one last warning look before turning my back to her, facing the heavy oak dining table to check the real-time satellite feeds.
The exact second my spine faced her, I heard the soft, distinct rustle of oversized cotton.
Squeak. Creak.
I didn't turn around. I just stared at the wall, a profound wave of internal regret washing over my entire being. How on earth does Keifer Watson handle this menace? I thought, completely baffled. I am her elder Kuya. I am supposed to be the scary, authoritative older brother figure who commands respect. People in the underworld flee when they hear my name. Yet, I am standing here, completely unable to handle one tiny girl.
I slowly turned my head.
Jay Jay had already climbed entirely onto the kitchen island counter. She was currently crouching on the polished marble like a tiny, sneaky blue gargoyle, reaching her hand out toward a decorative bowl on the highest shelf.
"Jay Jay," I growled, my stern voice dropping into a dangerously quiet register. "What did I just say?"
Jay Jay froze mid-reach. She didn't even look guilty. Instead, she turned her face to me, her eyes wide, glossy, and completely full of fake, innocent drama. "But Kuya Angelo! I heard a highly suspicious noise up here! I was assisting the security detail! What if the Watson family hid a microphone inside this ceramic vase?!"
"The Watsons do not hide bugs in decorative ceramics, and you know it," I said, stepping toward the kitchen. My heavy boots thudded against the floorboards, a sound that usually made seasoned mercenaries sweat. "Get off the counter before you roll down like you did on the stairs."
"You have zero appreciation for my tactical intuition," she sniffed. She slid off the marble counter with an incredibly dramatic, slow sigh, her feet pattering softly against the floor.
I stood there, watching her march back to the sofa with her lower lip jutting out so far it was ridiculous. As I looked at her—this clumsy, chaotic, stubborn little kitten who was currently sticking her tongue out at me the moment I blinked—a single, desperate question echoed through my tactical brain.
Keifer was the mastermind behind four multi-national corporations. He managed thousands of people and dealt with ruthless board members. Yet, Keifer somehow possessed the infinite, saint-like patience required to willingly live with a girl who required twenty-four-hour surveillance just so she wouldn't launch herself off the furniture.
Keifer didn't just tolerate it; he looked at this ridiculous behavior with absolute, unyielding adoration.
Keifer is a literal saint, , a rare wave of genuine pity for that waston washing over me. If I have to stay here for another twenty-three hours without losing my absolute sanity, it will be a miracle.
"If you move from that cushion one more time," I said, pulling out my phone and unlocking the screen with an unblinking, ruthless stare, "I am calling Keifer right now. I will tell him you are actively sabotaging my security protocols."
Jay Jay froze mid-pout. Her eyes went completely wide with theatrical betrayal. "You wouldn't dare! That is psychological warfare, Kuya! That is emotional blackmail!"
"Try me," I replied, my voice completely deadpan.
Jay Jay let out a tragic, defeated gasp. She instantly flopped sideways onto the sofa, grabbing a velvet blanket and pulling it completely over her head, transforming herself into a silent, angry blue lump.
I let out a long, slow breath, finally sitting back down at my laptop. I had won this specific perimeter check, but looking at the clock, I realized the day had barely even begun.