KEIRAN POV
I yawned as I made my way down the grand staircase of the mansion. My barong from yesterday was finally a memory, and I was back in my comfortable clothes, ready to face another day of being the coolest member of the Watson family.
But as soon as I entered the dining area, I froze.
I had to rub my eyes. I even considered calling a doctor. Because there, sitting at the head of the table, was Kuya Keifer. And the scary part?
He was smiling.
Not that I-just-closed-a-multi-billion-deal smirk or his usual I-look-better-than-everyone grin. It was a genuine, quiet, lutang kind of smile.
The kind of smile someone wears when they've spent the whole night watching a rom-com or when they're thinking about a certain teacher.
"Wow. What happened last night that you're smiling like that, Kuya? Did the stock market double while I was asleep?" I teased, sliding into my chair across from him.
Kuya Keigan walked in right behind me, stopping in his tracks when he saw the expression on Kuya Keifer's face. He looked at me, then at Kuya Keifer, and then gave a slow, knowing nod.
"The air feels different in here today, doesn't it, Keiran?" Kuya Keigan said, a playful glint in his eyes.
Kuya Keifer didn't say anything. He just took a sip of his coffee, trying to retreat back into his serious, stone-faced mask. But he wasn't fast enough. That little muscle in his jaw twitched—the one that shows up when he's trying to hide his amusement.
"Silent treatment? Classic Kuya," I sighed, reaching for a piece of toast. "Always the serious one, even after his own wedding. You'd think he'd be more energetic today."
I leaned back, glancing toward the hallway. I was waiting for Ate Jay. My teacher. My sister-in-law.
Ate Jay-jay.
I still can't believe it. My favorite teacher is now officially part of the Watson madhouse. If the guys at school find out about this, I'm never going to hear the end of it.
But honestly? I'm happy. I've known my brother his whole life. I've seen him build walls around himself higher than our mansion's gates. He's always been the protector, the stone, the one who handles everything. He never lets anyone in.
But then came Ate Jay-jay.
She's clumsy, she's obsessed with cake, she screams when she's embarrassed, and she's the only one brave enough to treat a Watson like a regular human being. She's exactly the kind of chaos this family needs to wake up.
I saw the way Kuya looked at the empty chair next to him. He was waiting for her too.
"If you keep staring at her chair like that, it's going to grow legs and run away out of embarrassment," I whispered loudly to Keigan.
"Shut up, Keiran," Kuya Keifer grumbled, but his ears were turning a suspicious shade of pink.
I grinned, kicking my legs under the table. Bingo.
Kuya was definitely a goner.
Then, Ate Jay-jay appeared.
She walked into the dining hall looking like a mix of a sleepy panda and a very confused princess. She was wearing the silk pajamas Kuya probably bought her, her hair still a bit messy from sleep.
"Morning, Ate!" I greeted her
Ate Jay stopped, her eyes landing on the plate in front of me. She didn't even say "good morning" back yet; she just narrow-eyed my breakfast.
"Morning. Are you seriously eating a cold Pop-Tart for breakfast, Keiran?" she asked, raising an eyebrow in that way that usually means someone is about to get a lecture on nutrition.
"Umm... no?" I lied, trying to hide the foil wrapper.
She let out a long, weary sigh—the 'Ate' sigh. She didn't even ask for permission; she just walked over, snatched the Pop-Tart right out of my hand, and replaced it with a heavy scoop of scrambled eggs, two slices of toast, and a mountain of crispy bacon.
"Eat properly. You need brain power to survive school and your grumpy Kuya" she muttered, though her eyes were soft.
I just smiled, staring at my plate. I wasn't used to being treated like this. In this house, everything is grand, but it's also quiet. Except for Kuya Keifer and Keigan, everyone else here is just staff—maids and guards who follow orders because they're paid to. They care about the Watson name, not the Watsons.
But Ate Jay? She was the first person at school who didn't look at me like I was just a rich troublemaker. She was the first one to yell at me for getting into a fight, and then the first one to sit me down and gently treat my bruises while scolding me
Maybe that's why I forced Kuya to marry her. Call me a brat, call me a manipulator, but I knew what I was doing. I knew she wouldn't just take care of me—she would cure Kuya Keifer, too.
I never saw Kuya truly happy after Mom died. It was rare for him to smile. He became a stone, a business machine, a wall. But now that Ate Jay was here? I could already see the cracks in his armor. I was sure she would bring light to all this darkness we've been living in.
"Eat. You're going to be late to school," she said, finally sitting down next to me and—true to form—putting an extra mound of eggs on Keigan's plate, too.
Kuya Keigan just looked at the eggs, then at her, and didn't say a word. He was like Kuya Keifer 2.0—less serious, sure, but no better when it came to his emotions. He was also struggling with his own trauma. I didn't really know the full details, but I knew it had everything to do with that monster we call a Father.
The dining room fell into a rhythmic silence of clinking forks and chewing. It was a domestic kind of silence. A 'family' kind of silence.
I peeked at Kuya Keifer. He was watching Ate Jay-jay while she was busy scolding Keigan about his posture. He didn't look annoyed. He looked... peaceful.
Good luck, Kuya, I thought, shoveling a forkful of eggs into my mouth. You finally have someone who will yell at you when you're stupid and feed you when you're sad.
For the first time in a long time, the Watson mansion didn't feel so empty.
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JAY JAY POV
School today. Yay. Fun. (Note the sarcasm, please).
I love my students, but my brain is currently fried from the Watson-experience I had this morning. I was still thinking about how Keifer looked at me at the breakfast table when my phone started vibrating like it was having a seizure in my bag.
I checked the caller ID.
Oh, shoot.
"Hey, Freya," I said, answering with a voice that was about eighty percent guilt and twenty percent please-don't-scream.
"JAY-JAY MARIANO! OR SHOULD I SAY JAY-JAY WATSON?!" Freya's voice boomed from the other end, loud enough to make the birds in the campus trees scatter. "OMG! Did you seriously get married and not tell me?! I leave the country for one work trip and you decide to become a billionaire's wife?!"
"Sorry na! It was so quick!" I whispered-yelled, ducking behind a pillar in the hallway. "Everything happened in like, forty-eight hours. You were out of the country, and I didn't want to stress you out!"
Freya let out a dramatic gasp. "Stress me out? Jay, this is the most stress I've had since I found a wrinkle last year! I expect a full PowerPoint presentation on this Keifer guy when I get back."
I leaned my head against the cool cement of the pillar. Freya
Aries' friend at first, she used to be such a bitch—like, a total canvas-bitch, the classic mean girl who looked like she stepped out of a fashion magazine just to judge your shoes. But after a lot of drama and some serious bonding, we became best friends.
Now, she's part of the squad that has managed to get their lives together while I was still trying to figure out how to work my microwave without burning the house down.
There's Mica, who's happily married to Calix. She's the sensible one, usually. Then there's the guys: Ci-n and Rakki. Ci-n is the ultimate childish spirit—he's a boy, but he's basically our group's baby and my best friend in all things immature. He and Rakki are officially engaged, and honestly, those two are enough to give anyone toothaches from the sweetness. Then there's Grace, who's married to Denzel. Grace was the brave one; she got pregnant at eighteen, but they managed to fight through all the obstacles and built a beautiful life with their baby girl. And of course, Freya, who finally settled down with David.
"Are you even listening, Jay?" Freya's voice snapped me back to reality. "Tell me he's handsome. Tell me he treats you like a queen."
"He's... he's okay," I stammered, my mind immediately flashing to the way Keifer looked in his sweatpants this morning. Okay? Jay-jay, he's a walking cardiac arrest. "He makes bacon, Freya. Good bacon."
"He has billions and you're talking about bacon? You are so hopeless!" she laughed. "Anyway, I'm telling the girls and the boys. We're having a celebratory dinner the moment I land. No excuses!"
"Okay, okay! See you, Freya! I have to go, my class is about to start!"
I hung up and let out a long breath.
I started walking toward my classroom
I looked down at the wedding ring on my finger. It felt heavy—not just because of the diamond, but because of what it meant.
"Stop daydreaming, Jay-jay! You have a quiz to give!" I scolded myself, slapping my cheeks.
I pushed open the door to Section E's classroom.
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