The pressure of midterm week was a physical weight on Jay's shoulders.
Between maintaining her 1.25 GPA and surviving the psychological warfare Cheska waged daily, Jay felt like a wire pulled too tight.
That afternoon, Cheska had "accidentally" tripped near the library table, spilling a full carafe of iced coffee over Jay's laptop.
The screen had flickered and died, taking Jay's final 30-page research paper with it.
Jay hadn't screamed. She hadn't even looked at Cheska. She had simply gathered her things and retreated to the suite, her heart hollow with the realization that her scholarship—her only ticket to freedom—was slipping through her fingers.
She was sitting on the velvet couch in their room, staring blankly at a thick reference book, her eyes burning but refusing to leak.
Keifer was on the bed, supposedly reviewing a case study, but his eyes never left her.
He could feel the despair radiating off her in waves.
A soft, authoritative knock at the door broke the silence. Donya Elena entered, carrying a sleek, leather-bound file.
Her expression was no longer just motherly; it was regal.
"Keifer, come here," Elena commanded softly.
Keifer stood up and joined them.
Elena sat on the edge of the coffee table, facing them both as they sat on the couch.
She looked at Jay, seeing the exhaustion, and then at the file in her hands.
"Years ago," Elena began, her voice steady and rich with history, "your mother, Maria, knew that the world would be hard on a girl as bright as you.
She didn't just leave you with memories, Jay. She left you a legacy. She entrusted me with the controlling interest of Mariano Corp, to be held in trust until the day you became a Watson wife."
Jay's breath hitched. "Mariano Corp? But... my stepfather said the company was bankrupt. He said there was nothing left."
"He lied," Elena said firmly, handing the file to Jay. "He was never the owner; he was just a shadow. These are the legal deeds and majority shares. As of this moment, Jaspher Jean Mariano-Watson, you are the CEO. The company has been managed by a silent board, and it is thriving."
Keifer stared at the documents, a slow, triumphant smirk spreading across his face.
Elena took Jay's hands in hers, her gaze piercing. "You have been playing the part of a guest in this house, letting my husband and that girl treat you like an outsider. No more. You are a CEO. You have a corporation to lead, a degree to finish, and a husband to keep in line. You have no other obligations to anyone in this world—least of all to the whims of people who don't see your worth."
As Elena left the room, the atmosphere changed. The "Scholar Girl" was gone; in her place was a woman with the power to buy and sell the very people who looked down on her.
"A CEO, huh?" Keifer murmured, moving closer on the couch until their shoulders touched.
She bit her lower lip, but it was not sufficient for holding her real smile back.
She can't see in keifer's eyes, she know, if she saw, she'll get flowed with it.
I hope immerged in her heart, that maybe now she can really try to open her to him.
She was still looking down bitting her lip and keifer was admiring her, the way she was bitting her lip, his control want to skip, but then suddenly her expressions changed.
"I lost my paper, Keifer," Jay whispered, the reality of the laptop crash hitting her again.
"The shares are amazing, but if I fail my finals, I lose my dignity. I don't know if I can rewrite it in time."
Keifer didn't hesitate. He reached for his own laptop and pulled her notes toward him.
"You're the CEO now, Jay. Consider me your first executive assistant. We're staying up all night. You dictate, I'll type, and we'll pull the data together. You aren't failing. Not on my watch."
" It's ok, you must be tired. Just go, sleep."
Keifer face her turn her chin with his finger "jay, I told you, I am doing this, it means I am."
She didn't stop him, couldn't and just nodded with a little bit real smile.
Through the night, the room was filled with the sound of frantic typing and Jay's brilliant mind at work.
Keifer didn't just help; he marveled at her. He saw her brilliance, her tenacity, and the way she commanded the information.
As the sun began to rise, the paper was finished—better than the original.
She looked exhausted, keifer slip his hand towards her head and make it leaned on his shoulder, her breathe hitched but when her head touched his shoulder, tension eased.
"Thank you, Keifer," she murmured.
He kissed the top of her head, his heart overflowing. "Don't thank me, Boss. We've got a board meeting to prepare for."
A/n:
**Spoiler for upcoming chapters:
Jay have a boyfriend