JAY-JAY POV
Patay.
Aries and Kuya Angelo finally left the room—probably to go grill Keifer in the hallway—but Percy didn't move. He just stood there at the foot of the bed, crossing his arms and looking at me with that "I know you're lying" face.
"Take off your blanket," Percy said. His voice was flat, like he was reading a grocery list, but I knew that tone. It was the "Big Brother" tone.
"Why? It's cold in here, right Keiran?" I said, my eyes glued to the TV screen where my game character was currently running into a wall. I was gripping the controller so hard my knuckles were turning white.
"Jasper Jean Fernandez Mariano-Watson. Do what I say," Percy said.
I swallowed hard. Jusko. He used my full name. All three of them. He never gets serious like this unless someone is either dead, dying, or hiding a giant secret. If Percy is using the full name, we might as well just surrender and call the funeral parlor.
"Perc, it's really nothing! I just have... cold feet! Literally!" I squeaked, trying to give Keiran a look that said Help me!
But Keiran was already slowly putting his controller down, looking at Percy like he was staring at a final boss in a game he wasn't leveled up for.
"Ate… I think you should just show him," Keiran whispered, sounding like he was about to cry.
"Blanket. Off. Now," Percy repeated, stepping closer.
Slowly, with my heart thumping against my ribs like a trapped bird, I pulled the duvet back. The white bandages around my leg were stark against the dark sheets. There was a little bit of yellow ointment seeping through, and the swelling made my leg look twice its normal size.
Percy's eyes darkened. He didn't yell. He didn't even move. He just stared at my leg for a long, quiet minute.
"He stepped on it," I whispered, my voice sounding small and pathetic. "Keifer's dad. He was trying to get me to tell him where the kids were."
Percy's jaw clenched so hard I thought his teeth might crack. He reached out, his hand hovering over the bandage, but he didn't touch it. He looked like he was vibrating with a silent, concentrated rage.
"And Watson let this happen?" Percy asked, his voice a low, terrifying shadow of its usual self.
"He wasn't here, Percy! There was a fire at the factory—it was a trap! Keifer almost got burned trying to get back to me!" I defended him immediately.
Percy finally looked up at me. His eyes weren't just mad; they were hurt. "You're our sister, Jay. We spent years making sure no one touched a hair on your head, and then we let you marry into a family that treats you like a floor mat?"
"I'm not a floor mat! I bit him! I actually bit his hand like a chicken wing!" I huffed, trying to make him smile.
But Percy didn't smile. He just stood up and turned toward the door.
"Percy, wait! Don't go out there!" I yelled, trying to sit up, but the sharp pain in my leg made me hiss and fall back against the pillows.
"Keiran, stay with her," Percy said over his shoulder.
"Where are you going?!"
"To help Angelo finish what he started," Percy said coldly.
Gago. Truly! My cousins are going to turn Mark Keifer Watson into a literal pancake, and I'm stuck here like a bandaged siopao!
"KEIFER! RUN!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, hoping the sound would travel through the walls.
Outside, I heard the heavy sound of Percy's footsteps heading for the stairs, and then the faint, unmistakable sound of Kuya Angelo's voice getting louder.
"Keiran, help me get up," I hissed, grabbing Keiran's shoulder.
Keiran looked at me like I was asking him to help me rob a bank. "Ate, the doctor said strictly bed rest! And Kuya Keifer will murder me if I let you walk!"
I gave him my best "Teacher Glare"—the one that makes even the rowdiest students sit down and shut up. "Do you want me to let Percy and Angelo turn your brother into a punching bag? Help. Me. Up."
Keiran gulped and reluctantly shifted so I could lean on him. Every time my bandaged foot touched the floor, it felt like a thousand needles were stabbing me, but I didn't care. I hopped and limped my way out of the room and toward the top of the stairs.
Downstairs, the atmosphere was thick enough to cut with a knife. Kuya Angelo was standing right in Keifer's face, his fist clenched so tight his knuckles were white. Percy was right behind him, looking like a silent, vengeful shadow.
"You promised she'd be safe!" Angelo roared. "And now she's upstairs with a face like a lopsided siopao and a leg that's practically crushed!"
Angelo raised his fist, and I saw Keifer just stand there. He didn't even try to block it. He just closed his eyes, ready to take it because he honestly believed he deserved it.
"Kuya, please stop!" I yelled, my voice cracking as I reached the bottom of the steps.
I tried to rush toward them, but my balance gave out. My bad leg buckled, and I felt myself pitching forward toward the cold marble floor.
"JAY!"
Before I could hit the ground, a pair of strong, familiar arms wrapped around me. Keifer had moved like lightning. He caught me against his chest, his heart thumping wildly against my ear.
"I told you not to get up from the bed!" Keifer scolded, his voice a mix of terrifying anger and pure, raw panic. He wasn't even looking at my brothers anymore; he was only looking at me, his eyes searching my face for any new signs of pain.
KEIFER POV
My heart nearly stopped for the tenth time today. I didn't care that Angelo was about to break my jaw. I didn't care that the Watsons and the Marianos were on the verge of a civil war.
All I saw was Jay-jay, pale and trembling, almost hitting the floor because she was trying to save me.
"I told you not to get up from the bed!" I barked at her, though my hands were shaking as I held her. I tucked her head against my chest, shielding her from the sight of her angry brothers
"They were gonna hit you," she whispered into my shirt, her small hands clutching the fabric. "Don't let them hit you, Keifer. You're already dusty from the fire."
I looked up at Angelo and Percy. Angelo's fist was still raised, but his expression had shifted from rage to something else when he saw the way Jay-jay was clinging to me—and the way I was holding her like she was the only thing keeping me upright.
"Let her go, Keifer," Angelo muttered, though the fire in his voice had died down to a flicker.
"I'm not letting her go anywhere," I said, my voice dropping into that low, unwavering tone I used in boardrooms. I tightened my grip, lifting her off her feet so she wouldn't have to put any weight on her leg. "She's hurt. She's tired. And she shouldn't have to be a referee in her own house."
I looked Angelo dead in the eye. "You can hit me later. You can take the company, you can take my cars, you can even take my head. But right now, I am taking my wife back to bed."
I didn't wait for his permission. I turned around and started carrying her back up the stairs.
JAY-JAY POV
He's so dramatic! But also… kilig.
I let my head rest against his shoulder as he carried me. I could hear Kuya Angelo grumbling something downstairs, and Percy sighed loudly, which usually meant he was giving up on the violence for at least five minutes.
"Watson?" I whispered as we reached the landing.
"Don't talk, Jay. You're supposed to be resting."
"Are you mad?"
He stopped just outside our bedroom door. He looked down at me, and for a second, the cold CEO mask slipped. He looked like he wanted to cry, scream, and kiss me all at once.
"I'm not mad at you, Jay," he whispered, his voice breaking. "I'm mad at myself. I'm so mad at myself that I can't even breathe sometimes."
I reached up with my good hand and poked his cheek. "Stop it. I'm the teacher here, and I'm giving you a failing grade in 'Self-Care.' If you keep being sad, I'm not gonna let you share my fries later."
He let out a short, wet laugh and kissed my forehead. "Fine. But you're staying in that bed until the doctor says otherwise. No more 'saving' me, okay?"
"We'll see," I muttered as he tucked me back into the sheets. "Depends on how many people try to punch you tomorrow."
Keifer placed me back on the bed like I was a fragile piece of porcelain. A few seconds later, my brothers—Aries, Angelo, and Percy—filed into the room. The air was still thick enough to choke on from the fight that almost happened downstairs.
"How are you?" Aries asked, his voice finally dropping from "attack mode" to his usual worried brother tone.
I crossed my arms over my chest and gave the three of them the most judgmental stare I could manage, considering half my face was swollen and my leg was still throbbing.
"Oh, finally! You remembered to ask me how I was before going around hitting my husband," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
Beside the bed, Keifer froze. I didn't even have to look at him to know his brain had just short-circuited. He looked at me with wide eyes, like I'd just announced I was moving to the moon.
"What? I'm telling the truth!" I huffed, looking back at my brothers. "You guys stormed in here like it was a generic action movie. You didn't even say Hi, Jay-jay, how's your face? or Do you need some siomai? You just went straight for the punching!"
"Jay, he let his father walk into this house and—!" Angelo started, pointing a finger toward the hallway.
"And he was at a literal fire!" I interrupted, pointing right back at him. "He almost got cooked like a charcoal barbecue trying to get home! Does that look like someone who doesn't care?"
Keifer was still standing there like a statue. I think the word husband was still echoing in his ears. Honestly, I called him that to make a point, but now that I'd said it out loud in front of my scary brothers, my face felt like actual lava.
Gago. Why is my heart beating so fast I'm surprised it hasn't popped out of my chest and run to the kitchen?
"You're defending him now?" Percy asked, raising an eyebrow.
I looked at Keifer. He looked back at me, his expression a mix of guilt and a sudden, flickering hope.
"Yes," I said firmly, though my voice caught just a little bit. "Because he saved me. He crashed his car into the gate just to get to me. And he made me pancakes this morning. Perfectly round ones."
Angelo let out a long, frustrated sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked at Keifer, then back at me, and finally lowered his hand.
"Fine," Angelo muttered. "But if we see another bruise on her that didn't come from her own clumsiness... factory fire or not, Watson, you're dead meat."
KEIFER POV
I couldn't move. I couldn't even breathe.
Husband.
She said it. She didn't say Keifer" or him. She said my husband. After I had been a possessive idiot, after I had failed to protect her, after I had terrified her... she was standing up to her brothers just to protect me. Angelo, Aries, and Percy—men who wouldn't hesitate to bury me—were backing down because of her.
The word hit me harder than any of Angelo's punches could have. I looked at Jay-jay, who was now bickering with Aries about which fast-food chain had the best chicken. She looked so small, so battered, yet so incredibly brave.
I've spent my life thinking that power meant being the one in control of every situation. But looking at her, I realized power was this. Power was having someone look at the worst version of you and still claim you as theirs.
"I'll... I'll go get her some food," I managed to say, my voice sounding raspy.
"You better," Angelo grumbled, though he stepped aside to let me pass. "And make it the expensive kind. She's had a long day."
I walked toward the door, but before I left, I looked back at Jay-jay. She caught my eye and gave me a tiny, secret wink—the kind that said she was only being scary for my sake.
I walked down the stairs. I was just a man who realized he'd just been given the greatest gift in the world: a second chance from a girl who loves gravy and round pancakes.
I'm going to buy every fried chicken wing in this city. Every single one.
JAY-JAY POV
As soon as Keifer left the room, I collapsed back against the pillows and let out a huge breath.
"Are you okay, Ate?" Keiran asked, finally peeking out from behind Percy.
"I'm fine, Keiran," I squeaked, covering my face with my hands. Gago, I just called him husband in front of my brothers. I'm officially going to die of embarrassment. Please bury me with a side of extra-crispy skin and plenty of gravy.
"Too late for that, Jay-jay," Percy laughed, poking my arm. "You already claimed him. No refunds, even if he burns the next batch of pancakes."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Guys, my new book is out — it's called
Secrets Between Us (Jayfer) 💙✨
Please check it out when you can, it would mean so much to me 🤍
I actually posted it yesterday, and please don't mind if it sounds a little different from how I usually write 😭 After the exam yesterday — which went fine, I think I actually did good 😭🙏 — I started working on the book's storyline, pictures, and chapters. I was literally exhausted but still pushed through because I wanted to give you guys something new 💫