Keifer's POV
The morning sun cut through the heavy perimeter foliage of the estate, casting long, geometric prisms of light across the master bathroom. I had already executed the biometric verification for her morning medication sequence. Now, the priority was removing the lingering physical discomfort of her healing abdominal walls with a deep, temperature-regulated soak.
I knelt by the side of the freestanding marble tub, my shirtsleeves rolled up to my elbows, my large hands steady as I supported her shoulders against the porcelain incline.
"Keifer, please," Jay Jay huffed, her small hands frantically splashing a wave of warm, lavender-infused water right against my chest. Her face was flushed a brilliant, irritated crimson, her big eyes glaring at me with all the stubborn fury of a tiny bird trapped in a cage. "I am perfectly capable of washing my own shoulders. I can take a bath by myself. You are being completely ridiculous."
"You will sit still, Little Bird," I rumbled, my gravelly voice entirely flat, mature, and absolute as I took the soft sponge, ignoring the water soaking through my dark trousers. "The specialist explicitly detailed that any sudden twisting or reaching movements could aggravate the deep muscle tearing in your abdomen. You will not risk a relapse because of your pride."
"It's not pride, it's modesty!" she protested, trying to shield her chest with her arms, a sudden wince tightening her features as she shifted too quickly.
My hand instantly clamped around her shoulder, anchoring her back into the warm water with immovable gentleness. My eyes narrowed, boring into hers with the unyielding authority of a husband.
"I have already seen everything, Jay," I murmured, my voice dropping into a low, absolute vibration that left no room for defiance. "There is nothing you are trying to hide from me. I know every little, beautiful piece of this fragile body. I have carried it through a war zone, and I have stitched it back together. I am washing your hair. Do not argue with me."
She let out a tiny, defeated whine, her jaw tightening as she stubbornly tilted her head back into my hands, letting me rinse the thick lather from her dark locks.
Once she was safely resting in the deep warmth of the tub, her breathing settling into a relaxed, sleepy rhythm, I moved efficiently. I stepped into the glass shower enclosure directly across from the tub, keeping the door open so my eyes never left her form for a single second. I threw the valve, letting the cold water hit my face and chest to scrub away the lingering fatigue of the subterranean cells. It took precisely ninety seconds.
I stepped out, completely drenched, water streaming down my hair and soaking my clean white shirt until it clung like a second skin to my chest and abdomen. I didn't care about the mess.
I grabbed a massive, thick heated white towel, wrapping it entirely around her tiny frame as I hoisted her out of the tub and pulled her flush against my chest.
I turned on my heel, kicking the heavy frosted-glass door of the bathroom open to carry her back to the bedroom—and froze.
Jay Jay's POV
I was completely buried inside the mountain of plush, heated fabric, my head resting right against Keifer's solid, soaking-wet shoulder. He was completely drenched, water dripping from the sharp angle of his jaw and tracking down his neck, turning his white shirt entirely transparent. I was just about to lecture him about ruining the hardwood floors with his dripping clothes when he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.
I blinked against the bright morning light, peeking over his shoulder toward the open bedroom door.
Standing in a rigid, horrified semi-circle right in the threshold were five men, all staring at us like they had just witnessed a ghost rise from the grave.
It was Aries, Percy, Angelo, Keigan, and Keiren.
The silence in the room was absolute, save for the rhythmic drip... drip... drip of the shower water falling from Keifer's hair onto the floor.
"Oh my god," Keigan choked out, his eyes widening to the size of saucers as his gaze darted from Keifer's transparent shirt to my bare shoulders peeking out of the towel. Instantly, Keigan slammed his large palm directly over Keiren's face, violently blinding his younger brother. "Don't look, look away!"
"Hey! Let go of my face, I can't breathe!" Keiren muffled, giggling hysterically as he tried to pry Keigan's fingers off his eyes, both of them vibrating with suppressed laughter.
Right next to them, Angelo and Aries looked like they were about to spontaneously combust. Angelo's face turned an apocalyptic shade of purple, his split, bandaged knuckles clenching so hard into his pockets that the fabric groaned. Aries' eyes flashed with an absolute, homicidal brotherly fury, his chest heaving as he stared at Keifer's unbothered, soaking-wet frame holding me.
"Watson," Angelo growled, his deep voice vibrating with pure, unadulterated anger. "What the hell do you think you're doing? We came up here to check her medical charts, not to find you... you..."
Keifer didn't even blink. His expression remained entirely dead, hollow, and void of a single damn emotion. He didn't adjust the towel, he didn't apologize, and he certainly didn't move away. He just stood there like a massive, untouchable ice fortress, holding me tighter against his chest.
"She is recovering," Keifer stated smoothly, his gravelly voice flat and completely dismissing their existence. "Get out of my doorway."
Percy, who was standing at the back with his arms crossed, let out a slow, heavy sigh of pure, professional exasperation. Without a single word, the iron sentinel stepped forward, grabbed both Keigan and Keiren by the collars of their shirts like two misbehaving puppies, and began dragging them backward into the hallway.
"Alight, theater's over, move it," Percy muttered smoothly, using his massive frame to push a strictly fuming Angelo and a violently angry Aries out of the threshold.
"I am going to kill him, Aries, I swear to God I am going to rip his estate apart—" Angelo's furious roars echoed down the corridor as Percy firmly shut the heavy mahogany doors, cutting off the noise and locking the world out once again.
I buried my face deep into Keifer's wet shoulder, my shoulders shaking as a breathless, uncontrollable laugh finally escaped my lips. "You are completely terrible, Keifer. They are going to murder you in your sleep."
Keifer didn't answer. He simply carried me over to the silk duvet, his dark eyes softening into that rare, fierce warmth meant only for me. "Let them try, My Little Bird. You're staying in this bed."
Keifer's POV
I carried her down the wide marble stairs, ensuring my grip never shifted as the heavy fabric of the cashmere sweater protected her from the slight morning draft. When I stepped into the grand dining room, the table was already laid out with a massive feast of high-nutrient liquids, warm broths, and fresh berries.
I settled her carefully into the plush armchair to my immediate right, checking her digital tracker one last time before stepping back.
Before I could even reach for my napkin, the phone in my pocket vibrated against my thigh. I drew it out, the screen displaying a message from Section E. Edrix and Rory, had just tracked down the computer logs used by the three bastards' logistics guy.
"Eat," I murmured to Jay Jay, my voice dropping into a low, quiet tone as I pressed a brief, firm kiss to the top of her dark hair. "I have to take this."
I turned on my heel and walked toward the high arched windows at the far end of the dining room, keeping my back to the room but my eyes tracking her reflection in the glass.
"You're not eating, Keifer?" her soft, slightly raspy voice cut through the quiet room, a faint trace of a stubborn pout evident in her tone as she stared at the empty space beside her.
"No, you eat first," I answered smoothly over my shoulder, my voice entirely flat, mature, and leaving no room for argument. "I have some work. I am just coming in a few minutes. Finish the broth."
I connected the call, my mind shifting instantly into a focused, serious headspace as Edrix and Rory began giving me the technical updates in my ear. But even as I listened to the data trails, my eyes never truly left her reflection. I watched as her brothers instantly descended upon her chair like a wall of overprotective concrete, thoroughly stripping her of any chance to throw one of her usual tantrums about being handled like glass.
Jay Jay's POV
I glared at Keifer's broad back as he stood by the windows, the phone pressed to his ear while he talked in a quiet, serious tone.
"I can eat by myself, you know!" I huffed loudly, trying to reach for the silver spoon next to the crystal bowl of warm broth. I was so incredibly tired of being treated like a helpless toddler, and I was fully prepared to throw a massive tantrum right there on the mahogany table just to prove I could lift my own arms.
But I didn't even get the chance.
Before my fingers could even brush the cold silver, three massive shadows completely blocked out the morning sun, surrounding my chair like an unbreakable human fortress.
"Sit back, Jay," Angelo commanded strictly, his deep voice carrying that absolute, no-nonsense brotherly edge as he effortlessly intercepted my hand. He pulled the silver bowl closer to his side of the table, dipped the spoon into the broth, and blew on it with ridiculous care before holding it straight to my lips. "Open up. You haven't finished your calorie count for the morning."
" kuya, stop! Iam not two!" I whined, my face turning a brilliant shade of crimson as I tried to turn my head away.
Right next to him, Aries stepped into my line of sight, his face pale and exhausted from his night dealing with the fallout, but his bloodshot eyes were fiercely fixed on my plate. Without a single word, he took a silver fork, skewered a single, perfectly ripe blackberry, and held it right by my cheek like a second guard waiting for an opening.
"Don't be cocky," Aries murmured, his tone dropping into a rare, quiet gravity that instantly melted my defiance. "Just eat. We watched your vitals drop to nothing five days ago. You're eating every single bite on this table if we have to sit here until noon."
I looked toward the end of the table for help, but Percy was already standing right beside my right shoulder. My deeply self-obsessed brother didn't even look amused he slowly adjusted his hair in the reflection of a shiny silver platter before pushing a small thermal cup of high-nutrient tea precisely two inches closer to my hand.
"The medicine requires a coated stomach, baby sister," Percy stated smoothly, his calm, stylish voice carrying the finality of a court order. "Keifer's rules are absolute. If you don't swallow the broth, he'll cancel the afternoon greenhouse walk."
I let out a long, defeated whimper, completely trapped between my terrifyingly strict brothers and Keifer's silent, watching shadow by the glass. I stubbornly bit into the blackberry Aries was holding, my shoulders slumping as I realized that in this house, throwing a tantrum was completely useless. I was surrounded by a full room of dangerous, overprotective caretakers, and every single one of them was entirely focused on my recovery.
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