(Jay's POV)
The living room of the giant mansion was way too big. It had gold lamps, shiny floors, and chairs that looked too expensive to sit on. But right then, nobody was looking at the expensive chairs. Everyone was looking at my brother, Percy, who was currently trying to balance a very large, sticky pastry on his nose.
"Watch this, Jay!" Percy yelled. His eyes were crossed. He looked ridiculous. "If I can hold it here for ten seconds, Keifer has to give me his watch!"
Keifer sat next to me on the sofa. He looked perfectly neat in his dark suit. Not a single hair was out of place. He did not look worried about losing his watch at all. He just took a slow sip of his tea and smiled his calm, handsome smile.
"I did not agree to that bet, Percy," Keifer said softly.
"Shh! You are breaking my focus!" Percy wheezed. His face turned bright red. The pastry was covered in white sugar and sticky strawberry jam. It began to slide. It went left. It went right.
"Do not drop that on the rug!" I screamed, jumping up. "Dad will kill you!"
My dad, Jaspher Mariano, just laughed from his big armchair. He did not look like a scary, rich businessman right now. He looked like a happy kid. He had white sugar all over his expensive gray tie. "Let him try, Jay! When he was seven, he tried to balance a whole bowl of hot soup on his head. It did not end well."
"It was an accident!" Percy shouted. But as he shouted, his mouth moved too much. The sticky strawberry pastry slid right off his nose.
He tried to catch it with his hands. He missed. He tried to catch it with his foot. He kicked it instead. The pastry flew straight across the room. It zipped through the air like a sweet, sticky rocket.
Splat!
It hit the wall right next to a giant, gold painting of our great-grandfather, the one who I don't even know name of!!
The pastry stuck there for one long second. Then, it slowly slid down the wallpaper, leaving a bright red streak of jam behind it.We all went completely silent. I froze. Percy froze with his leg still up in the air. Even the grandfather clock in the corner seemed to stop ticking.
I looked at my dad. His face was changing color. It went from pink to dark red. I gripped the edge of my cream-colored dress. I felt like running away back to our house. My heart was thumping hard against my ribs. I thought dad was going to yell. I thought he was going to throw us out.
Instead, dad let out a huge snort. Then he started to laugh so hard that he shook. "A perfect shot!" dad roared, clapping his hands together. "Percy, your aim has improved!"
Percy dropped his leg and bowed like he was an actor in a theater. "Thank you, thank you! I practice every day!"
I sat back down next to Keifer and let out a huge breath. I felt like my brain was melting. This afternoon was completely wild. Just a few hours ago, I was screaming in my kitchen because I thought my morning was ruined. Now, my brother was throwing food at the walls of a mansion, and my dad was cheering for him.
Keifer reached over and gently took my hand. His skin was warm and steady. He used his thumb to rub the back of my hand. It always made me feel safe when he did that.
"Are you okay, my barakuda?" Keifer whispered in my ear. His breath was warm and smelled like mint tea.
"I am fine," I whispered back, though my face felt very hot. "Percy is just insane. I forgot how crazy he can be."
We all know he knows Percy better than me!
"I think they are wonderful," Keifer said. He looked at my dad and Percy with genuine warmth. He did not look bothered by the mess or the shouting at all.
"Oh, you think this is crazy?" Percy asked, ears popping up like a dog that heard the word walk. He came over and dumped himself onto the sofa on my other side. He smelled like vanilla and sugar.
"Jay, tell Keifer about the time you got your head stuck in the stair railing . Aunt gemma told me about it !"
"Percy! No!" I yelled, my face burning. "We are not talking about that!"
"What happened?" Keifer asked. I could see the funny little spark in his eyes. He loved hearing stories about when I was small.
"She wanted to see if her head was smaller than a watermelon!" Percy shouted, laughing so loud that a servant outside the door probably heard him. "She pushed her big head right through the wooden bars. She got through fine. But then she tried to pull it back. No luck! She was stuck there for three hours!"
"It was not three hours!" I argued, hitting Percy's arm with a small pillow. "It was only forty minutes!"
"Angelo had to call three different guys with saws!" Percy continued, ignoring my pillow completely. "They had to cut the expensive wood. Jay was crying and covered in butter because Aunt gemma tried to grease her ears to slide her out!"
Dad pointed a finger at me, his eyes tears of joy. "I still have the picture, Keifer! Percy tooke it from Gemma. I will find it for you later. She looked like a very sad, buttery little owl."
Keifer let out a rare, loud chuckle. Hearing him laugh like that made me want to hide under the sofa, but it also made me smile. "A buttery owl," Keifer repeated, looking at me with so much love it made my chest ache. "That sounds very cute."
"She was not cute, she was sticky!" Percy said. He then grabbed another pastry from the silver tray on the table. This one was filled with yellow cream. "Hey, Keifer. Since you are going to marry my baby sister, you have to pass the test."
I frowned. "What test? You never told me about a test!"
"It is a secret brother test," Percy said, looking very serious all of a sudden. He held the cream pastry up high. "You must eat this whole thing in one bite. Without using your hands. And without getting any cream on your nose. If you fail, you have to clean that jam off the wall."
"Percy, stop being a bully," I said, trying to reach for the pastry to throw it away.
But Keifer moved faster. He leaned forward. His sharp eyes looked at the pastry like it was a target. He did not hesitate for even a single second. He opened his mouth, leaned in, and took the entire pastry right out of Percy's fingers.
His cheeks puffed out. He chewed calmly. His jaw moved up and down. He swallowed hard. Then, he took his white cloth napkin and tapped his lips. His nose was perfectly clean.
Percy's jaw dropped. He looked at Keifer like Keifer had just done a magic trick. "Wow," Percy said, his voice full of respect. "You really are a fast eater. No wonder Jay likes you."
"He learned from the best," I said proudly, remembering how I had shoved a hot omelette into my own mouth that very morning.
Proud wifey!! Of course, I was even thinking to open my own classes. Tell me if u would like to join!
Dad clapped his hands again. "Excellent! Keifer, you are a man of action. I like that. Most men in suits are too proud to eat like a wild animal. But you did it for love."
Wait! Was it compliment or insult? Why can't my almond sized brain process it???
"I did it because it looked delicious, sir," Keifer said, bowing his head slightly.
"Call me Dad!" dad corrected him immediately, shaking his head. "I told you already. You are family now. Anyone who can handle my daughter and my son at the same time deserves to call me Dad."
The room grew warm and happy. For the next hour, the jokes kept coming. Percy told a story about how I once tried to dye my hair pink using beet juice from the kitchen and ended up looking like a giant radish. Dad told a story about how Percy once wore his shoes on the wrong feet for a whole week because he thought it made him run faster.
We laughed until our stomachs hurt. The servants came in to clean the jam off the wall, smiling quietly as they worked. It felt like a normal, happy family afternoon.
But then, the clock in the corner struck five. The deep, heavy sound echoed through the high room.
Bong. Bong. Bong.
The laughter slowly died down. The air in the room seemed to change. It went from light and warm to heavy and cool.
Dad stopped laughing. He cleared his throat and wiped the sugar off his tie with his napkin. He stood up from his big armchair. His back was very straight now. He did not look like the silly father who laughed at sticky walls anymore. He looked like Jaspher Mariano, the man who owned half the city.
He looked at Keifer. The warmth in his eyes was still there, but there was something else now. Something sharp. Something serious.
"Keifer," dad said, his voice dropping into a low, deep tone. "Come with me to my study. We need to have a private talk."
My heart did a dangerous flip inside my chest. The happy feeling in my stomach vanished instantly, replaced by a cold lump of fear. I looked at Keifer.
Keifer did not look surprised. He stood up smoothly, buttoning his suit jacket with one hand. He looked down at me and gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze. "I will be right back, Jay. Do not worry."
"But—" I started, my voice tight.
"Stay here with Percy, Jay," dad said. He did not look back as he walked toward the large wooden doors at the end of the hall. His footsteps were loud on the shiny floor.
Keifer followed him. He walked with long, steady steps, his head held high. He looked like a soldier going into a big battle. The heavy wooden doors closed behind them with a loud thud.
The room felt way too quiet now. The fun was completely gone.
I turned to Percy. He was not smiling anymore either. He was sitting on the sofa, staring at his shoes. The goofy brother was gone. He looked older suddenly. He looked tired.
"Percy," I said, my voice shaking a little bit. "What is going on? Why did dad take him away like that? Is he mad about the engagement?"
Percy let out a long, slow sigh. He reached out and picked up a clean spoon from the tray, spinning it between his fingers. "No, Jay. He is not mad about the engagement. He likes Keifer. We both do."
"Then why does he look like he is about to fire someone?" I asked, gripping my knees. "The atmosphere changed so fast. It scares me."
Percy stopped spinning the spoon. He looked up at me. His eyes were dark and serious. "Because, baby sister, being a Mariano is not just about living in a big house and throwing pastries at walls. Dad has to make sure Keifer knows exactly what he is getting into."
"What does that mean?" I demanded. "Keifer knows me. He knows everything about me."
"He knows you," Percy said softly, leaning closer. "But he does not know our world. He does not know the people who want to see dad fall. He does not know the enemies we have. Dad needs to know if Keifer is strong enough to stand by you when things get ugly. Because believe me, Jay... things always get ugly."
I stared at the closed wooden doors. My skin felt cold. Inside that quiet study, away from the laughter and the cakes, my father was laying out the heavy, dangerous truth of our family name. And I could only pray that Keifer was ready for it.
(Keifer's POV)
The heavy wooden doors of the study closed behind us with a solid click, cutting off the sound of the grandfather clock in the hall. The room smelled of old paper, leather chairs, and dark coffee. It was quiet. Very quiet.
Jaspher Mariano walked across the room to a large desk made of dark wood. He did not sit down. Instead, he stood by the big glass window, looking out at the green gardens below. The playful father who had laughed at the sticky wall was gone. The man standing before me now was the head of a massive business family.
I stood in the center of the room. I kept my hands folded behind my back. My suit jacket was buttoned. My breathing was slow and steady. I had spent my whole life training to stay calm under pressure, and I needed that training now. I had to active my CEO persona from Watson Enterprises.
"You love my daughter, Keifer?" Jaspher asked. He did not turn around to face me. His voice was low and heavy.
"With all my heart, sir," I answered immediately. My voice did not shake.
Jaspher let out a short, dry breath that sounded almost like a sigh. He turned around slowly, putting his hands into his pockets. His sharp eyes looked me up and down, checking every detail of my posture. "Love is a good thing. It is a beautiful thing. But in this family, love can be dangerous. Jay does not understand the weight of her own last name yet. She thinks she is just a normal girl who moved away to live a quiet life."
"She wants peace," I said softly, thinking of her messy hair and her silly panic over her morning coffee. "And I want to give her that peace."
"Peace is expensive, young man," Jaspher said, walking closer to the desk. He picked up a small, black folder and tossed it onto the wood. It landed with a dull thud. "And it is very hard to keep. When people find out that Jay is back, and when they find out she is getting married, things will change. The news will spread fast."
I looked down at the black folder. "Is there a specific threat, sir?"
Jaspher leaned his hands on the desk, bending forward slightly. The light from the window hit the gray hair at his temples. "There are always people watching us, Keifer. Business rivals. People who think the Mariano family has too much power. They look for weakness. For a long time, Jay was hidden away. She was safe because nobody knew where she was or what she looked like. But now, she is out in the open. She is with you. Maybe this was the reason that Jeana never let her meet me or contact with me."
He paused, his eyes drilling into mine. "If our enemies want to hurt me, or if they want to force me to make a bad business deal, they will not come after me. They are too afraid of me. They will go after the easiest target. They will go after Jay."
A cold, hard feeling formed in my chest. My fingers tightened behind my back, but I did not let my face show any emotion. "I will protect her. Nobody will touch her while I am breathing."
"I see the fire in your eyes, Keifer. I like it," Jaspher said, his tone softening just a fraction. "But you need to understand what protection means. It means you can never lower your guard. It means your house needs better security. It means when you drive her to the grocery store, you must look at every car behind you. Are you ready to live your life looking over your shoulder?"
"I already do," I replied simply. "And I am more than ready. As the CEO of Watson Enterprises, I run a global billionaire empire. My own life has been under a microscope for years. My houses are built like fortresses, my personal security team is the best in the world, and my armored vehicles can handle any threat. Jay is not entering this dangerous world alone, sir. She is stepping into my world, and my empire will shield her from yours."
Jaspher stared at me for a long, silent moment. The heavy warning in his eyes slowly turned into deep surprise, and then into massive respect. He realized that I was not just some ordinary guy marrying his daughter—I had just as much wealth, power, and influence as the Mariano family itself.
He walked around his desk, a proud grin breaking across his face, and clapped a heavy hand onto my shoulder. "Excellent! I forgot for a moment that I am speaking to the head of Watson Enterprises. You do not just have the heart to protect her, Keifer—you have the actual power to do it."
He looked toward the heavy wooden doors, his smile fading slightly into a soft, fatherly look. "She is a special girl. She is chaotic, she is loud, and she eats too fast when she is nervous. But she has a good heart. Do not let this dark world ruin her light."
"I won't," I promised.
"Go back to her now," Jaspher said, letting his hand drop. "She is probably outside the door right now, trying to listen through the wood."
I bowed my head respectfully and turned toward the exit. As I reached for the brass doorknob, I straightened my cuffs. The afternoon of laughter and pastries was officially over. The reality of our future had just begun, and I was going to use every single resource of Watson Enterprises to keep my girl safe.
I turned the brass doorknob and pulled the heavy wooden door open very quickly.
Whoosh!
Jay did not even have time to react. She had been leaning her ear completely flat against the wood, trying to hear our conversation. Since the door was suddenly gone, she lost her balance. She let out a loud gasp and fell straight forward into the study.
I moved fast. I caught her by her waist before her face could hit the hard floor. Her cream-colored dress bunched up in my hands, and her eyes were wide with surprise. She looked like a startled bird.
"Looking for something, my barakuda?" I asked softly, a small smile breaking across my face.
Jay's face went completely bright red. She quickly scrambled back onto her own feet and shook out her dress, trying to look important. "I was not spying! I was just... checking if the wood was made of high-quality oak! It is very important to check the wood!"
From behind me, Jaspher let out a huge roar of laughter. "Nice try, Jay! You have been trying to listen through that exact door since you were five years old. You still haven't learned that it is completely soundproof."
Percy walked up behind Jay, holding a half-eaten pastry. He shook his head at her. "I told you it wouldn't work, baby sister. Your ears are too small."
"Shut up, Percy!" Jay snapped, her cheeks still burning. She turned her eyes back to me, looking at me up and down to check if I was okay. She grabbed my arm tightly. "Did he yell at you? Did he make you sign a contract? If he tried to make you sign away your soul, you don't have to do it!"
I placed my hand over hers, feeling her heart racing through her fingers. "No, Jay. We just had a very good talk about our future."
Jaspher walked over and put his hand on Jay's shoulder, looking at her with soft eyes. "He is a good man, Jay. In fact, he might be the only man in the world who can actually handle your wild energy. Watson Enterprises is in safe hands, and so are you."
Jay blinked, looking between me and her father. "Wait... you two are not mad?"
"Of course not," Jaspher said, smiling warmly. "Now, go home and get some rest. You have had a long day."
Jay let out a massive sigh of relief, her shoulders finally dropping. We said our goodbyes, and Percy gave me another dramatic brotherly handshake, warning me not to let Jay eat too fast in the car.
As we walked out of the grand mansion and toward our black SUV, the evening air was cool and fresh. Jay immediately slumped into the passenger seat, kicking off her shoes with a loud groan. "Oh my gosh, Keifer. I thought my heart was going to explode into a million pieces."
I started the engine, the powerful car purring to life. I looked over at her, seeing her completely relaxed now, her chaotic energy finally running out. "I told you not to worry," I said, reaching over to hold her hand as I drove out of the mansion gates. "Nobody is going to ruin your light, Jay. I promise."