Kiefer (POV)
Jay was asleep on my chest while I slowly brushed my fingers through her hair.
Even in sleep…
I could still see the dried tear marks on her cheeks.
That alone made something painful twist inside my chest.
Carefully, I rubbed my thumb against her skin before leaning down to kiss her forehead softly.
"Please don't cry anymore," I whispered against her skin.
"I hate seeing you like that."
I knew she couldn't hear me.
But I still said it anyway.
Because watching Jay blame herself for everything hurt more than my own injuries.
Honestly…
I used to hate hospital beds.
Too small.
Too uncomfortable.
But right now?
I loved how small it was.
Jay was practically sleeping on top of me, unconsciously trying to stay as close to me as possible.
Like her body still needed reassurance that I was really here.
A faint smile appeared on my face.
Pathetically clingy.
My wife was pathetically clingy.
And somehow, that only made me love her more.
I looked down at her sleeping face for a few more seconds before gently kissing her lips.
Then—
The door suddenly opened.
I immediately looked up.
Percy walked in.
The second he saw us, a dramatic grin spread across his face.
"Hmmmm… enjoying your private time?" he whispered loudly while giggling like an idiot.
I glared at him instantly.
Percy ignored me completely.
Then his expression brightened even more.
"Come outside," he said excitedly. "Clyden and Jare are awake."
And then he walked out like he hadn't just casually dropped life-changing information on me.
I looked down at Jay for a second.
She looked peaceful for the first time since waking up.
Carefully, I adjusted her position and slowly moved her onto the pillow without waking her. Then I pulled the blanket over her properly before brushing her hair away from her face one last time.
"I'll come back soon," I whispered.
Then I walked outside.
Percy was still sitting dramatically in the wheelchair, waiting for me.
I narrowed my eyes immediately.
"Why are you still in that wheelchair?" I asked. "Didn't the doctor already say you're okay?"
"Hmmm," Percy said proudly while spinning the wheel slightly. "But I like sitting here."
I smacked the back of his head instantly.
"Ow!"
"Get up and walk."
"Violence. Inside a hospital. Unbelievable."
Ignoring him, I walked toward Clyden's and Jare's room and opened the door.
The second I stepped inside—
Relief hit me so hard it almost made my knees weak.
Clyden was awake.
Jare too.
Cole and Angelo were adjusting their pillows while both of them looked exhausted but alive.
Alive.
"Took you both long enough to wake up," I muttered quietly.
Clyden gave a weak smirk.
"Where's Jay?"
Of course.
Even half-dead, his first concern was her.
"She's sleeping," I replied softly.
The second I said that, Jare looked at me seriously.
"Is she okay?"
That question hurt more than expected.
Because physically?
Yes.
But emotionally…
I didn't know anymore.
I rubbed the back of my neck tiredly before answering quietly.
"She's trying to act like she is."
The room fell silent for a moment.
Then Aries sighed softly.
"We know Jay," he said quietly. "She's probably blaming herself for everything."
That made my chest tighten immediately.
Because he was right.
"She cried the whole night while holding your hands," I admitted quietly while looking at Clyden and Jare. "She fell asleep beside you two."
Jare lowered his eyes instantly.
"What happened?" Cole asked carefully.
I stayed silent for a second before finally saying,
"Cassian came yesterday and talked to Jay."
The atmosphere in the room changed instantly.
Clyden's expression darkened.
"Why did you allow that?" Clyden asked sharply.
"Jay wanted to meet him," I replied defensively. "I thought she just wanted to thank him."
Clyden's expression darkened immediately.
"Were you inside while they talked?" he asked.
I shook my head.
"No. Jay told me to wait outside."
The second those words left my mouth—
"Shit," Clyden cursed under his breath.
A heavy silence filled the room.
"Kiefer…" Cole sighed tiredly.
He rubbed his forehead. "Do you even realize how Cassian talks?"
I frowned slightly.
"What do you mean?"
"He wasn't just talking to you before," Cole continued seriously. "He was testing you."
"Provoking you," Angelo added calmly.
"He kept pushing your boundaries," Angelo continued. "Watching how far he could go before you reacted."
Then Clyden brushed his hair back slowly and looked directly at me.
"Kiefer… Cassian doesn't hate you because of business or ego."
Something about his tone made me pay attention immediately.
"He sees you as competition."
The room fell quiet again.
"And you should never leave Jay alone with someone like that."
My jaw tightened instantly.
"What's so great about him anyway?" I muttered coldly.
Clyden leaned back carefully against the pillow.
"Kiefer… unlike people like us, Cassian built everything from nothing."
I frowned slightly.
"He didn't use violence. Didn't threaten people. Didn't force loyalty."
Then his eyes sharpened slightly.
"He talks."
A pause.
"And somehow people end up walking exactly where he wants them to."
The way he said it made something uncomfortable settle in my chest.
"He doesn't attack directly," Cole added quietly. "He plants thoughts."
"Fear. Doubt. Guilt," Angelo said calmly.
Then Clyden looked at me seriously.
"Cassian sets traps inside people's minds."
Silence filled the room after that.
And suddenly—
I remembered Jay's face after that conversation.
The way she looked was emotionally drained.
The way she hugged me without saying anything.
The way she cried later that night.
"He definitely said something to her," Angelo said quietly.
And for the first time since Cassian left—
I started feeling genuinely afraid of what those words might have been.
Clyden stayed silent for a few seconds before finally speaking.
"If Cassian wanted the Watson empire," he said quietly, "he could've gotten it easily."
That immediately made me frown.
"He's better than me in some ways, Kiefer."
The room became quieter after that.
"I heard from Cole and Angelo that he wants Jay."
The second, he said that—
Something dark snapped inside my chest.
"I'll kill him before he even gets close to her," I said coldly.
Nobody looked surprised by my answer.
But Clyden sighed tiredly and rubbed his forehead.
"Kiefer," he said seriously, "not everything works with fists and fights."
I looked at him sharply.
"Use your brain."
His voice stayed calm.
"Because if you want to fight Cassian…"
A pause.
"You'll need your mind more than your hands."
The room fell silent again.
And honestly?
That irritated me even more.
Because I understood exactly what he meant.
Cassian wasn't dangerous because he had weapons.
He was dangerous because he understood people.
He studied them.
Found their weaknesses.
Then slowly pushed until they destroyed themselves.
And the worst part?
He had already found Jay's weakness.
Fear.
Fear of losing the people she loved.
I clenched my jaw tightly.
Because now I understood something terrifying—
Cassian wasn't trying to steal Jay from me directly.
He was trying to make her walk away from me herself.
That realization sat heavily in my chest.
Then Cole suddenly looked at me seriously.
"What did you decide about Elder?"
The atmosphere in the room instantly changed.
Cold.
Dangerous.
I leaned back slightly against the wall and crossed my arms tightly.
"They already touched her," I said quietly.
And that alone was enough to darken everyone's expressions.
"I'm already ready to drag every single one of them into hell myself."
The anger inside me immediately rose again just thinking about it.
"I already stopped all their transactions," I continued coldly. "Destroyed everything I could find."
Years of digging into their secrets.
Their money.
Their connections.
I had prepared for this long ago.
"But Clyden asked me to stop before finishing it."
I glanced at him briefly.
"He said they deserved a chance because they raised him."
Clyden lowered his eyes silently.
Angelo folded his arms and asked carefully,
"So what now?"
I stayed quiet for a second before answering honestly.
"I want to kill them myself."
The room fell silent after that.
Because they all knew I meant it.
But then I clenched my jaw tightly.
"But if Jay finds out…"
I stopped speaking halfway.
Because I already knew exactly how she would react.
Jay hated blood when it came from people she loved.
She could survive danger.
Pain.
Even trauma.
But becoming the reason someone crossed a line they couldn't return from?
That would destroy her.
So I looked away slightly and finished quietly.
"Then everything she said about me becoming like them… wouldn't be a lie anymore."
The room fell silent for a moment.
Then Jare leaned back carefully against the bed despite his injuries and said coldly,
"After discharge, let's finish this."
His eyes darkened.
"And kill everyone who touched her."
Nobody in the room looked shocked by those words anymore.
Not after what happened.
Cole slowly picked up his phone from the table.
"I already got the list," he said calmly.
The atmosphere instantly turned deadly.
Then—
The door suddenly opened.
All of us looked up immediately.
Jay stood there.
And the second I saw her face—
Something inside me dropped.
She wasn't crying normally.
No.
There was something far worse in her eyes.
Pain.
Fear.
Sadness.
Like she had just heard something that shattered her completely.
My body moved before my brain could even react.
"Jay?"
Her eyes immediately landed on all of us.
Then slowly—
On Cole's phone.
On Jare.
On me.
And suddenly…
I realized exactly how this looked.
A room full of injured men talking about killing people.
Her breathing became uneven instantly.
"Kiefer…" she whispered.
And somehow—
That one word sounded terrified.
Jay-Jay (POV)
When I woke up again…
Kiefer wasn't beside me.
For a second, panic hit me immediately.
Then I told myself he was probably with Cole Kuya and Angelo Kuya.
So I slowly walked out of the room.
My body still felt weak, but I ignored it and followed the voices coming from the nearby room.
The closer I got—
The more familiar the voices became.
Then I heard it.
Clyden Kuya's voice.
I froze for half a second.
He was awake.
Relief hit me so fast it almost made me cry right there.
But then—
The next words reached me.
"Elders."
My smile disappeared instantly.
Then Jare's cold voice came next.
"Let's kill them."
My chest tightened.
And then Cole said—
"I already got the list."
Everything inside me shattered after that.
No.
No no no—
Not this.
Not because of me.
My hands started trembling immediately.
Before I even realized it, I had already opened the door.
The second everyone saw me—
The entire room went silent.
And somehow…
The way they looked at me hurt most.
Like they didn't want me to hear this.
Like they wanted to protect me from it.
"Jay," Kiefer said immediately.
His voice softened instantly after seeing me.
But I couldn't even answer properly.
"Kiefer…" I whispered.
I tried so hard to stop crying.
I really did.
But the second I looked at everyone—
Bandages.
Bruises.
Pain.
All because of me—
I broke.
I walked past everyone immediately and ran straight to Clyden kuya.
The second I hugged him, he wrapped his arms around me carefully, despite his injuries, and gently patted my head.
"Didn't I promise you?" he whispered. "I'm okay now."
That only made me cry harder.
Because he was hurt.
And he was still comforting me.
Then I moved to Jare, Kuya, and hugged him tightly too.
He hugged me back immediately without saying anything.
And somehow…
That silence hurt more than words.
"Jay… are you okay?" Clyden kuya asked softly while patting my head carefully.
The second he asked that—
Something inside me completely snapped.
"Are you stupid?!" I shouted through tears.
Everyone in the room froze instantly.
"How could you throw your life away like that?!"
My hands tightened around his hospital gown while tears kept falling uncontrollably.
"You think that was worth saving me for?!"
Clyden stared at me silently.
"Do you think I would've been grateful if you died because of me?" My voice cracked painfully. "Or do you think you're immortal, huh?!"
Nobody interrupted me.
Nobody moved.
Because this wasn't anger anymore.
It was fear finally exploding out of me.
"If you're going to leave me in the middle of my life," I cried shakily, "then why did you come into it in the first place?!"
The room became completely silent.
I could barely breathe properly anymore.
"You knew how scared I was?" I whispered brokenly.
Images flashed through my head instantly.
Clyden collapsing.
Blood everywhere.
His body is becoming colder in my arms.
"When you fell on me…" my voice trembled violently, "when I saw you bleeding…"
I looked at him with tears pouring endlessly down my face.
"When your body became cold…"
My breathing broke completely.
"I thought I lost you forever," I said.
Then I hit his chest weakly.
"Ouch… Jay, you're going to kill me now," he said, wincing slightly.
The second I saw him react, panic flashed through me.
"Sorry—did it hurt a lot?" I said quickly. "Sorry… I was angry…"
But instead of getting upset, he just smiled softly.
"Jay…"
"It's okay now," Cole said gently from the side, his voice calm but firm as he tried to steady me. "Everything's over. Don't stress yourself."
I immediately shook my head.
"No," I whispered weakly. "Don't say that."
My eyes moved around the room desperately.
"I heard everything…"
Silence.
"You all want to kill them and walk straight back into another bloodbath again."
Nobody answered me.
And somehow—
That silence terrified me more.
Then I looked at them again.
At the injuries covering all their bodies.
At the exhaustion in their eyes.
At the pain, they were still hiding from me.
And suddenly…
The guilt inside me became unbearable.
"Then why did you even save me?,I should've died,"I whispered shakily.
"Jay!" everyone shouted instantly.
But I raised my hand immediately to stop them.
Tears kept falling endlessly down my face.
The room froze.
Kiefer moved toward me immediately.
"Don't say that."
But I kept shaking my head.
"Why? I can't say it?" I shouted, my voice cracking. "Just hearing you talk like that—then what about me? Seeing you bleeding in front of me… not even moving…"
My breath hitched hard as tears blurred my vision.
"I don't want to survive while watching all of you sacrifice yourselves for me," I cried.
My voice cracked harder after every word.
"It's hurting me more seeing all of you suffer just to keep me alive."
I looked around the room, my voice shaking.
"What's so great about me… that you're all willing to die?" I asked, my words breaking at the end.
"Don't talk like that," Clyden said immediately, his voice low but firm.
The room became painfully silent again.
Because this wasn't self-hatred anymore.
This was someone drowning under the weight of being loved too much.
And honestly—
That made it even more heartbreaking.
"I don't want to live a life where I survive by taking pieces of all your lives away," I whispered shakily.
I felt like I would completely drown in everything inside me.
"You know how jealous people used to be of me because I had six brothers who always protected me," I whispered brokenly.
A weak laugh escaped me through tears.
"Even when I didn't have friends… I never cared."
Because I already had everything I needed.
"I was happy just being with all of you."
My breathing shook harder.
"The way you all fought with me… teased me… annoyed me… protected me…"
I cried harder after that.
"That was enough for me."
The room stayed silent except for my sobs.
Then I looked at them desperately.
"So how do you think I'd be happy if one of you died for me?!"
Nobody answered.
Because there was no answer to that.
"You're not just my brothers," I cried shakily.
"You're my family."
My voice broke again.
"You're my happiness."
I wiped my tears desperately, but they kept falling endlessly.
"You think I could live peacefully after watching one of you die because of me?"
I shook my head violently.
"No."
Never.
Not in this life.
"I was happy these last four and a half years because of all of you."
Every memory hit me painfully now.
The laughter.
The teasing.
The chaos.
The love.
Everything I was terrified of losing.
Then I pressed my trembling hands against my chest like I was trying to hold myself together.
"Maybe I'm greedy," I admitted weakly.
"So greedy."
My breathing became uneven again.
"I'm greedy for your love."
The room became completely silent.
"Because if anything happens to any of you…"
My voice cracked so badly I could barely continue.
"I can't survive it."
That was the truth I had been hiding from everyone.
These people—
They weren't just part of my life anymore.
They were my life.
"You all became the family I always wished for," I whispered through tears.
"The home I always wanted."
I slowly looked at every single one of them again.
"And the only thing I ever prayed for…"
A sob escaped me.
"…was for all of us to stay together and live happily."
The room blurred completely from my tears now.
"So if you're planning to die just to protect me…"
I shook my head weakly.
"I would rather die first than stand there watching all of you disappear because of me, kuya."
And then—
My legs gave out completely.
I dropped onto my knees in the middle of the room.
My legs gave out completely.
I dropped onto my knees in the middle of the room.
"Jay!" Kiefer said sharply, moving toward me.
"Don't come near me, please," I said, and everyone froze instantly.
"Then don't talk like you want to die!" Kiefer shouted back, his voice breaking with anger and fear.
Silence crashed over the room.
No one moved.
No one interrupted.
Because they could hear it now—how completely I was falling apart.
I slowly looked at Cole first.
"You have a family too, don't you?" I cried softly. "Cole kuya… did you not think about Amy Ate, and Kai?"
Cole lowered his eyes immediately.
"Didn't you promise her you'd make her happy?" My voice trembled harder. "Didn't you promise you'd build a family together?"
Tears kept falling endlessly down my face.
"Don't you want to watch Kai grow up?"
Cole clenched his jaw tightly but stayed silent.
Then I looked at Angelo.
"Kuya…" My throat tightened painfully. "I never felt like I needed a father because I had you."
Angelo's expression broke instantly.
"You were always there for me."
I cried harder after saying that.
"So do you really want your own child to grow up the same way you did?"
Silence.
Painful silence.
Then my eyes moved toward Percy.
"You know what happened to Honey's parents," I whispered shakily. "You know how badly losing them destroyed her."
Percy's joking expression disappeared completely.
"If something happens to you too…" my voice cracked. "How do you expect her to survive that, kuya?"
For the first time since I entered the room—
Percy looked completely speechless.
Then I turned toward Jare.
"Didn't you promise me something when you married Mia?" I asked through tears.
Jare slowly lowered his head.
"You promised you wouldn't leave her alone again."
My breathing became uneven.
"She's carrying your child now, Jare."
The room became heavier after that.
Then my eyes moved to Aries.
"Ela just gave birth recently," I whispered. "She left her family and built her whole world around you."
Aries shut his eyes tightly.
"And now you're ready to throw your life away too?"
Nobody had answers anymore.
Because this wasn't guilt-tripping.
This was fear.
Pure fear.
Finally—
I looked at Clyden.
"You promised Sandra you'd marry her someday," I whispered weakly.
Clyden's fingers tightened over the blanket.
"And now you want to die too?"
Then slowly…
I turned toward Kiefer.
The second our eyes met—
My chest hurt even more.
Because he looked destroyed watching me like this.
My voice became smaller after that.
More fragile.
"Kiefer…" I whispered shakily.
He stepped toward me immediately.
But I cried harder and asked the question anyway.
"If you die…"
My breathing broke again.
"Do you really think I'll be able to live without you?"
The room became completely silent after that.
Even Kiefer looked like my words physically hurt him.
Then I looked around at all of them again through blurred tears.
"Please don't do this to me, kuyas…" I whispered brokenly.
My hands trembled helplessly at my sides.
"I can't survive watching something happen to any of you."
Nobody moved.
Nobody even tried interrupting me anymore.
Because every word coming out of me sounded terrified.
"How am I supposed to face everyone if I lose you?" I cried shakily. "How do I look at your wives? Your children?"
My voice cracked harder.
"Please…"
I wiped my tears desperately, but they wouldn't stop falling.
"I don't want to be selfish anymore."
That sentence hurt me most.
Because maybe Cassian was right about one thing.
Maybe loving me really did drag people into danger.
"I just wanted to live happily with all of you," I whispered weakly.
That was all I ever wanted.
A family.
A home.
Peace with the people I loved.
But now—
Everyone around me was bleeding because of me.
Fear slowly tightened around my chest again.
"I'm scared," I admitted finally.
The words came out so small.
"So scared."
My breathing became uneven again.
"Before meeting me… all of you were living happily."
Tears kept falling endlessly.
"But now…"
I looked around the room at every injury again.
Every bandage.
Every wound.
Every person I almost lost.
"And now I feel like I brought disaster into your lives."
The room stayed painfully quiet.
Then I lowered my head and whispered the thought that had been destroying me from the inside ever since yesterday.
"It's like God really hates me."
My voice shattered completely.
"Like, he doesn't want me to be happy."
Tears blurred my vision so badly that I could barely see them.
But I still kept talking.
I folded my trembling hands together desperately.
"Please don't do this to me…" I begged through broken sobs.
"Please… don't die for me…"
That sentence broke the room completely.
Because everyone knew what I meant.
The four years.
The loneliness.
The emptiness after losing Kiefer once already.
"Please, kuya…" I cried helplessly. "I'm already breaking apart…"
Every word came out shattered.
Like, I was begging them to stay alive more than anything else in the world.
"Please don't leave me alone again… I'm scared that everything is my fault… I feel like I want to—"
Before I could finish, Kiefer pulled me into him and kissed me.
"Don't say that. You've already said enough," he said quietly against my lips.
But my tears only fell harder.
He pulled me into a tight hug, holding me close.
And I broke completely.
Everything I had been holding in for two days came crashing out at once. I didn't care how I looked or where I was anymore—I just cried, my sobs shaking through me like my chest was being torn apart from the inside.
My breathing turned uneven, each cry heavier than the last, like something inside me had finally snapped.
Kiefer didn't let go.
He just held me tighter, silently staying with me while I fell apart in his arms.
"You were never a disaster for anyone. Don't cry like you're breaking apart…" Kiefer said softly, pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead.
Then—
Strong arms suddenly wrapped around me.
Percy.
He pulled me carefully against him despite his own injuries, rubbing my back in slow circles.
"Hey… hey…" he whispered. "Don't cry anymore…"
His voice lost all its teasing now.
"It's okay."
I kept shaking in his arms.
Then Cole walked closer and crouched beside me.
"We're not going anywhere," he said firmly.
His hand rested gently on my head.
"Do you hear me?"
I cried harder after hearing that.
Percy wiped my tears dramatically with both hands.
"You look ugly when you cry, baby sis."
A weak, broken sound escaped me that almost sounded like a laugh.
Then Aries spoke from behind us.
"Yeah… really ugly."
SMACK.
Angelo immediately hit the back of his head.
"Ow!"
"Shut up," Angelo muttered.
Even through my tears—
That tiny moment felt painfully familiar.
Like home.
Then suddenly Clyden opened his arms slightly from the hospital bed and said weakly,
"Can I also get a hug, or are only these idiots special?"
A sob-laugh escaped me instantly.
I stood up shakily and walked toward him before hugging him carefully.
Clyden immediately wrapped his arms around me despite the pain and kissed the top of my head softly.
Then I moved to Jare too and hugged him tightly.
And for the first time since entering the room—
Nobody talked about revenge.
Nobody talked about blood.
They only held me like they were trying to remind me—
I wasn't carrying this pain alone anymore.
"So promise me you won't get into fights… and I don't want any of you to die before me. If someone from this room has to go… it should be me first," I said softly, my voice still trembling.
"Don't talk about death like it's some place," Angelo said immediately, lightly hitting my head.
But even that small moment… changed everything.
The room that had been heavy with fear a few minutes ago shifted—just a little.
Not because the pain was gone.
But because we were still here.
Together.
8 hours later.
Cole (POV)
I was in the hospital when Jay and Kiefer had finally gone home.
For a moment… it felt like we could finally breathe again.
Like the chaos had paused.
Like we had actually protected the fragile peace we were all fighting for.
Then my phone rang.
I picked it up without thinking.
"Hello?" I said.
"Are you the guardian of Jasher Jean Mariano?" a voice asked on the other end.
My brows furrowed slightly.
"Yeah… why? Why do you have my sister's phone?"
A brief silence followed.
Then the words came—
"Sir… your sister has died in a road accident."
For a second…
The world didn't make sense anymore.