The world went into a terrifying, weightless freefall.
Jay's eyes clutched shut, her fingers tightly locking around the balloon ribbon as the wind rushed past her ears.
She braced herself for the brutal impact of the hard garden rocks below, her heart leaping straight into her throat.
But the painful crash never came.
Instead, she felt a sudden, soft thud, followed by the sensation of something warm and incredibly safe wrapping tightly around her waist, shielding her completely.
Am I dead?
she thought, her mind spinning in absolute confusion.
Why am I not feeling any pain?
Slowly, her eyelashes fluttered open.
Her face was pressed flat against a broad, warm chest that was rising and falling rapidly.
She carefully pulled her head back, her vision clearing in the dim garden light, only to see the sharp jawline of the person holding her.
"K... Keifer..." she whispered, her voice trembling.
His eyes were closed tight, his breathing heavy and strained as he held her to his heart like she was the most precious thing in the world.
Relief and terror washed over Jay all at once, and hot tears instantly welled up in her eyes.
As if sensing her gaze, Keifer's eyes slowly fluttered open, his dark gaze locking onto hers with pure, unadulterated worry.
"Jay..." he breathed out, his grip tightening on her waist just to ensure she was really there.
"Wow! Are you both monkeys?!"
A sharp, booming shout suddenly pierced through the quiet night air, shattering the intense, emotional bubble.
The loud voice instantly brought Jay back to her senses.
She blinked, rapidly looking up, only to see her mom standing right over them, looking absolutely furious.
Mom was holding onto one side of a thick guest mattress, which she promptly threw down on the grass with a heavy huff.
They hadn't hit the hard ground at all-they had landed squarely on a thick, heavy mattress that the family had quickly slid underneath the tree just in time to break their fall.
Before Jay or Keifer could even stand up, her mom marched forward with an exasperated sigh, reached right down, and firmly twisted Keifer's ear.
"Ow! Mom!" Keifer groaned, his cool, arrogant demeanor instantly evaporating as he winced under her grip.
"Are you crazy?!" her mom scolded, giving his ear another sharp little twist.
"What on earth was the need for playing this ridiculous hide-and-seek game?
Look at your clothes!
Look at YOUR HAIR!, MAKEUP!!"
"Ow, Mom, stop! It wasn't me!"
Keifer complained, pointing a dramatic finger across the grass.
"It was Ci-N's plan!"
"What?!
Dad?!"
Ci-N gasped, his eyes widening in pure betrayal as his hands flew to his chest.
"I-"
But before Ci-N could even finish his sentence or defend his honor, Mrs. Watson stepped up.
Without missing a beat, she slipped a high heel off her foot and threw it right at Ci-N.
The shoe went flying through the air, hitting its marK perfectly, hitting his butt.
The sight of the fearless Section E leader getting his ear pulled by his mother-in-law, combined with Ci-N getting a heel thrown at him, was too much for the crowd to handle.
The entire Section E squad, along with the rest of the family, completely lost it, bursting out into roaring, uncontrollable laughter that echoed through the entire garden.
**
The chaotic garden rescue finally settled down, and everyone moved back inside.
Keifer and Jay were now standing on the main stage in the exact same clothes they had climbed the tree in-They had just adjusting their hair and makeup, because as per soon to be Mr and Mrs watson, consider changing clothes a waste of time.
Keifer stood there with a proud smile-cum-grin, while Jay held a shy, breathless smile as they both finally held the long-awaited rings.
Below the stage, the Section E boys and the girls were busy hooting, whistling, and shouting at the top of their lungs, making the entire hall echo with energy.
Through all the noise, Keifer was just looking at Jay, and she was looking right back at him, the rest of the world completely fading away.
"Dad! If you can't do it fast, I can come up there and help you!"
Ci-N shouted from the front row, grinning mischievously.
"Noooo!" Keifer shouted back instantly, quickly grabbing Jay's hand defensively, which made the entire hall burst into fresh waves of laughter.
He turned back to her, his gaze instantly shifting as his eyes softened completely.
"Ready, sunshine?"
he asked softly.
"Hmm," she nodded, smiling up at him as a beautiful pink blush crept across her cheeks.
With perfect care, he slid the elegant ring onto her finger.
The entire hall erupted into deafening applause and cheers.
Without letting go, Keifer wrapped both of his hands around her hand, brought it up to his face, and pressed his lips softly against her knuckles.
He closed his eyes for a lingering moment, keeping her knuckles pressed gently against his cheek.
Now, it was Jay's turn.
She took his hand in hers, nervously biting her lower lip before a sweet smile broke across her face.
"Are you ready to be stuck with me?"
she asked cutely, making him chuckle deeply while everyone else in the crowd smiled at the sight.
"Always," he replied without a second thought, his eyes locked onto hers.
With a steady hand and a heart full of happiness, she slipped the ring onto his finger, sealing the moment perfectly.
Keifer looked down at her, their hands still tightly tangled together.
Slowly, deliberately, he slid his hand up from her arm toward her shoulder, the deliberate touch sending a familiar wave of shivers straight down her spine.
With a gentle tug, he pulled her a little closer into his frame.
"Keifer..." she whispered, her eyes darting nervously toward the crowd.
"Everyone's looking."
But he didn't reply.
Instead, he pressed his warm palm gently against her cheek and leaned in, his dark eyes locking onto her lips.
For Jay, the entire hall and the cheering crowd became an absolute blur the second his warm breath fanned across her face.
Her eyelashes were already fluttering shut, completely helpless against his touch.
"Peeeeep
peeeeeep!"
A loud, obnoxious vocal horn sound suddenly shattered the romance, making them instantly pull apart.
There stood Ci-N, grinning from ear to ear as he pointed at a rolling cart.
"Cake's here!"
Jay felt her cheeks burn a furious shade of red when she realized the entire Section E squad and their families were laughing at their interrupted reaction.
Keifer, on the other hand, looked like he was ready to commit a crime, throwing literal daggers at Ci-N with his eyes.
Sensing his rising temper, Jay quickly held his hand, looking up at him with a cute, calming expression that silently said, it's okay.
They quickly settled around the table.
Keifer and Jay held the knife together and cut the gorgeous engagement cake amidst loud clapping, and they happily began feeding slices to everyone.
"Jay, I want more!" Ci-N complained like a spoiled toddler, holding out an empty plate.
Jay chuckled softly, cutting another slice and feeding it to him.
"See, Dad?! She loves me more!"
Ci-N shouted triumphantly, immediately turning on his heel and sprinting toward the far end of the hall before he could get caught.
"Cnnnnnnnnn... I'll kill you!"
Keifer shouted after him, his veins practically popping, while the rest of the hall burst into roaring laughter at the daily father-son drama.
As everyone mingled and chatted happily, a maid quietly took the remaining cake display away-though that was just a formality, since the boys had practically left absolutely nothing behind.
"Jay," Mica called out softly, stepping up to her side.
"Hmm?" Jay replied, turning around.
"There's cake on your mouth."
"Mine? Where?" Jay asked, immediately using the back of her hand to try and wipe her face blindly.
"No, no, not there. Right near your lip."
"Oh, okay-" Jay was just about to reach up and wipe it again when, out of absolutely nowhere, Keifer materialized right beside her.
Before she could even blink, he leaned down, captured the corner of her mouth in a sudden, brief kiss, and cleanly licked the stray bit of frosting right off her skin.
Jay's eyes went completely wide, turning into giant saucers, while Mica chuckled softly and quickly looked away to give them space.
"Keifer...!" Jay tried to speak, her voice stuck in her throat, but-
Peck.
Keifer leaned right back in and kissed her again, a small but complete kiss that lightly swept over her lips.
"Cake's so sweet," he murmured, his voice dripping with smooth flirtation while Jay stood entirely frozen, her brain completely short-circuiting.
"Kieferrrr...!"
Jay finally whisper-yelled, her face completely on fire as she brought her fist down to hit his solid chest.
But he was way too fast for her.
He effortlessly caught her wrist mid-air, pulling her even closer into his chest.
"Keifer, let go!
Everyone is right here!"
"I don't care. I haven't gotten a single kiss since morning," he said with utter, shameless confidence, making her stare at him in absolute disbelief.
"They didn't even ask us to kiss after the ring exchange!
And when I tried to do it myself, your kid..."
he pointed a dramatic thumb toward the far end of the room where Ci-N was hiding,
"...spoiled it completely."
She rolled her eyes and hit his shoulder with her other free hand.
"Ow!"
he muttered, though his smirk never faded.
"That's supposed to happen at the wedding, not at the engagement!"
she scolded under her breath.
"Oh, really?"
A dangerous, arrogant glint returned to his eyes as he wrapped his arm tightly around her waist, pulling her flush against him.
"My wife knows too much about kissing."
Jay's eyes went completely wide at his shamelessness, her face burning an even deeper shade of crimson.
"Anyways, it doesn't matter," he murmured, his smirk widening as he looked down at her flushed face.
Before she could even utter a single word of protest, he leaned down and stole one more firm, lingering kiss right from her lips, completely taking her breath away.
He pulled her body impossibly close to his chest, whispering against her mouth with absolute pride,
"My wife, my rules."
__________________________________
Hey buddies how are u?
I know chapter's small but my exams, practicals and blah blah are going on, but I also don't want to make u guys wait too much that's why it's small.
Also I'm feeling lazy nowadays, it's like please someone copy paste from my mind to here.
Ok buddies
Bye
Love u ❤️