2 weeks later
JAY JAY POV
Two weeks. It's been two weeks of being treated like a fragile porcelain doll. Two weeks of Keifer acting like my personal butler, nurse, and bodyguard all rolled into one.
But there was one problem. One big, fat, annoying problem.
What is the best way to say "I love you" without being interrupted every ten seconds?
Every time I got close to saying it, someone would burst in. Keiran would want help with a game level, Keigan would have a question about his homework, or a maid would come in to ask about lunch. It was like the universe had a restraining order against my feelings.
Gago. Why is it so hard to just say three words?
I was sitting on the sofa, staring blankly at the TV, my brain working overtime to create a perfect, interruption-proof scenario.
"What are you thinking about?" Keifer asked, coming to sit next to me.
"Nothing!" I said, a little too quickly.
He didn't look convinced, but he didn't push it. Instead, he reached out and carefully moved my injured leg onto his lap.
"What are you doing?" I asked, my face heating up as I tried to pull it back. Even after two weeks, his touch still felt like an electric shock to my system.
"Let me change the bandage," Keifer said softly. He was already reaching for the first-aid kit he kept nearby.
He started removing the old bandage with such focus, his fingers grazing my skin with a tenderness that made my breath hitch. He wasn't the scary CEO who roared at people; he was just... my husband. The guy who remembered to put extra syrup on my pancakes every morning.
I looked at his lowered head, his dark hair falling slightly over his forehead. My heart did that stupid soft-serve ice cream melt.
Now. Say it now, Jay-jay. No one is here. The kids are outside. The maids are in the kitchen. Say it!
"Keifer?" I whispered.
"Yeah?" he replied, not looking up as he cleaned the area around the bruise, which was now mostly a light yellow.
"I... I really need to tell you something. And don't laugh, okay? If you laugh, I'm never making you try my special fried rice again."
He stopped moving and finally looked up. His dark eyes were intense, catching mine and holding them hostage. "I'm not laughing, Jay. What is it?"
I swallowed hard. My palms were sweaty. "I... I think I... I mean, I know I—"
SLAM!
"ATE! KUYA! THE NEIGHBOR'S CAT IS IN THE FOUNTAIN AGAIN!" Keiran yelled, bursting through the front door like a whirlwind.
Gago! I am going to put a lock on every door in this house!
KEIFER POV
I watched as Jay-jay's face went from a beautiful, soft pink to a frustrated, bright red. She looked like she wanted to throw a pillow at Keiran's head.
Honestly, I felt the same way.
I had been waiting for her to finish that sentence for two weeks. I knew what she was trying to say—or at least, I hoped I did. Every time we got close, the chaos of this family pulled us apart.
"Keiran, go help the cat," I said, my voice tight with controlled irritation.
"But Kuya, it's a fluffy cat! It's going to get all soggy!"
"Go!"
Keiran blinked, realized he had interrupted something serious again, and scrambled back out the door.
Silence fell over the room again, but the moment was frayed. Jay-jay was staring at her toes, her shoulders slumped.
"Jay," I said, taking her hand in mine. I didn't care about the bandages right now. "You were saying?"
She looked at me, her eyes filling with that stubborn, sweet light that always made my heart skip.
"I was saying," she huffed, her voice trembling just a bit. "That you're a Gago. A big, rich, possessive, bossy Gago."
I felt a small, knowing smile tug at the corners of my lips. I could see it in her eyes—the way she was fighting her own shyness, the way her breath was hitching. I had her right where I wanted her.
"And?" I prompted, my voice dropping an octave, teasing her just a little bit.
"And that I lo—" she started, her voice barely a whisper.
RING! RING! RING!
The sharp, high-pitched trill of her ringtone sliced through the air like a blade. We both froze. Then, in perfect sync, we both turned our heads and glared at the phone sitting on the coffee table as if we could set it on fire with our minds.
Jay-jay let out a frustrated groan that sounded like a deflating balloon. She snatched up the phone with a huff.
"What is it?!" she barked into the receiver, her face still flushed from the interrupted moment.
She listened for a second, her expression shifting from anger to that teacher mode she gets when someone needs advice.
"Ci-n," she answered, her voice softening.
There it goes. I leaned back, a heavy sigh escaping me. I was starting to think I'd never actually hear those words from her. It was like I was cursed to stay in the Gago zone forever.
I went back to focus on her leg, carefully wrapping the fresh bandage. The skin looked so much better—the swelling had gone down almost completely, and the bruising was a faint, fading map of what she'd gone through for my brothers. I made a mental note: tomorrow, I'm taking her out for a walk in the garden. She needs the fresh air, and I need her away from every single distraction in this house.
"No, Ci-n," Jay-jay said, gesturing with her free hand as if Ci-n could see her. "Rakki will not like cars. She doesn't even like the sound of the lawnmower. Get her a flower bouquet or a teddy bear for her birthday. Something soft, okay?"
I finished the bandage and gave her calf a tiny, lingering squeeze before letting go. I stayed close, though, my shoulder brushing against her knee.
I watched her talk, her eyes lighting up as she gave advice about gifts. She was so selfless, even when she was the one who deserved to be pampered. She was worried about Rakki's birthday while she was still recovering from a kidnapping.
I reached out and started mindlessly tracing the pattern on her pajama pants. I wasn't listening to the call anymore. I was just looking at her.
She looked at me briefly, her eyes widening at my touch, but she didn't pull away. Instead, she reached out her free hand and absent-mindedly ran her fingers through my hair while she kept talking to Ci-n.
My heart did a slow, heavy thud.
She might not have finished the sentence, but the way she was touching me... the way she fought for me... it said everything her phone was trying to hide.
I really am head over heels for this girl.
As she kept talking about teddy bears and flowers, I made a silent vow. Tomorrow. No phones. No Keiran. No cats. Just us. And I'm not letting her leave that garden until I hear those three words.
LATER THAT NIGHT
JAY JAY POV
I was finally walking. Well, more like a slow, slightly wobbly shuffle, but Keifer had finally given me the "green signal" to move around on my own. I felt like a bird finally escaping a very expensive, very comfortable cage.
I was heading toward the kitchen to find whatever snacks had survived the afternoon when I passed Keifer's office. I usually just walk past, but a sharp, loud voice made me freeze in my tracks.
"Keifer!" a woman's voice snapped. It was high, polished, and sounded like it belonged to someone who had never eaten street food in her life.
I stopped, my heart doing a nervous little flutter. I know I shouldn't eavesdrop, but you can't blame me
"Hazel, I already told you the answer," Keifer replied. His voice was that Ice King tone—the one he used during board meetings. Cold, flat, and completely unbothered.
"You idiot," the woman—Hazel—continued, her voice rising in frustration. "You need an heir soon. Isn't that why you married that Jay-Jay girl?"
My breath hitched. I felt like someone had just dumped a bucket of ice water over me. That Jay-Jay girl?
Gago. My hands started to shake. I leaned closer to the door, my bad leg throbbing, but I didn't care. Was that really what people thought? Was I just a... a walking incubator for the Watson Group?
"Hazel, watch your mouth," Keifer said, his voice dropping into that low, dangerous vibration that usually made people run for cover.
"Oh, please," Hazel scoffed. "We all know how these things go. You pick a simple girl from a decent family, she provides the next generation, and you go back to running the empire. It's efficient. But don't act like it's some grand romance."
I felt a lump form in my throat. My eyes started to sting. I thought about the pancakes. I thought about him carrying me up the stairs. I thought about the way he held my hand while the doctor fixed my leg.
Was all of that just... efficiency?
I looked down at my oversized slippers, feeling incredibly small. I'm just a teacher
The girl who gets excited about extra gravy and round pancakes. I don't fit in world of heirs and empires.
I wanted to burst in there and yell at her. I wanted to tell her that I'm more than just a "girl." But my voice felt trapped in my chest.
Gago. I really am an idiot. For a second, I actually believed this was real.
I didn't wait to hear another word. I didn't want to hear whatever "business" excuse Hazel had next, or even Keifer's response. I just turned around and shuffled back toward our room as fast as my shaky leg would allow.
My green signal to walk felt like it had been slammed into a permanent red light. I didn't want the snacks anymore. I didn't want the fresh air. I just wanted to hide under my blanket and stay there until I disappeared.
Gago. I am such an idiot.
I reached the bedroom and closed the door softly, leaning my back against it as the first hot tear finally rolled down my cheek. I tried to wipe it away, but another one followed, and then another.
"Isn't that why you married that Jay-Jay girl?"
The words were like a loop playing in my head. I looked around the room—at the soft bed, the expensive clothes, the high-tech gadgets. Everything felt so foreign all of a sudden.
I'm just a "simple girl" to people like Hazel. A means to an end. An incubator for the next CEO.
I crawled onto the bed and pulled the duvet over my head, curling into a ball. I felt like a cheap prize in a very expensive game. Was the pancake breakfast just a way to keep the heir-maker happy? Was he being a personal nurse just to make sure his investment healed properly?
The thought hurt more than the blow to my face or the weight on my foot.
I squeezed my eyes shut, clutching a pillow to my chest. I wanted to believe Keifer was different. I wanted to believe that when he looked at me, he saw Jay-Jay, not just the future of Watson Group. But in this house, in this world, everything had a price tag.
Gago. Why did I have to fall for him? Why couldn't I have just stayed at school grading papers?
I cried silently under the covers, waiting for the person I called my husband to come back and lie to me again.
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