KEIFER POV
I leaned down, my lips brushing the warm, tiny forehead of the boy resting on Jay's chest. He was so small, so fragile, yet he felt like the heaviest thing I'd ever held. Jay-Jay was weeping, her eyes bloodshot and filled with a raw, maternal light as she kissed his crown one last time before weakly shifting him toward me.
I took him into my arms, my hands—still stained with the remnants of the warehouse and my own blood—shaking as I tucked the blanket around him.
My son.
Looking at his face, a single, hot tear escaped my eye and hit his soft cheek. I didn't even try to hide it.
"The only people in this world who can make me cry are you and your mother," I whispered to him, my voice thick with a vow that went deeper than any business deal or blood oath. I kissed his forehead again, lingering there. "I promise to keep you safe. You, and every one of your siblings who come after you. Nobody will ever touch you."
Jay-Jay looked up at me, a deep blush creeping into her pale cheeks despite her exhaustion. She glared at me through her tears, probably because I was already talking about having more children while she was still covered in the sweat of labor.
"Gago..." she mouthed at me, but the fire in her eyes flickered out fast. Her eyelids fluttered, and before she could say another word, her head lolled back against the pillow and her body went limp.
My heart nearly stopped.
"What the hell happened to her?!" I roared at the nurse, clutching the baby tighter to my chest as I lunged toward Jay's side. I ignored the sharp, tearing pain in my stitches. "Jay! Jay-Jay, wake up!"
"Sir, calm down! Please!" the nurse said, rushing over to check her vitals. "She just fainted from exhaustion. Her body has been through too much. She's just sleeping, Mr. Watson."
I stood there, frozen, my chest heaving as I watched the steady rise and fall of her chest. I reached out with my free hand and stroked her matted hair, my thumb tracing the line of her jaw.
Across the room, the doors creaked open. Keiran and Keigan poked their heads in, looking like they were walking into a crime scene.
"Kuya?" Keiran whispered, his eyes wide as he looked at the blood on my shirt and then at the tiny bundle in my arms. "Is she... okay?"
"She's sleeping," I said, my voice dropping back into its cold, protective shell. I looked at my brothers, then back at my son. "Come meet the new boss. And tell the guards to triple the floor security. If anyone so much as breathes near this room without my permission, kill them."
I sat back down in the chair next to her bed, refusing to let go of our son. My side was burning, my wife was unconscious, and my enemies were waiting in a warehouse to die—but as the baby let out a tiny, soft sigh in his sleep, I knew I had already won.
"Can I hold him?" Keiran whispered, his eyes wide and unusually soft for a guy who spent his weekends street racing and picking fights.
"Rest, Kuya. We got him," Keigan added, his voice steady. I felt the exhaustion finally crashing down on me, heavy and undeniable. My side was throbbing in time with my heartbeat. I nodded, reluctantly handing the small bundle to Keigan, and let the nurses guide me to the bed right next to Jay's.
I closed my eyes, intending to just rest for a second, but it felt like I fell into a deep, dark abyss.
When I opened my eyes again, the room wasn't quiet anymore. The sterile silence had been replaced by the sound of muffled laughter. I blinked, my vision clearing, and saw Keiran, Keigan, and Jay-Jay all huddled together, looking at something on a phone.
"Oh God, you're awake. How long have I slept for?" I rasped. I reached out for Jay's hand, pulling her fingers to my lips and kissing them one by one.
"Long enough for me to wake up first," she teased, leaning over to kiss my forehead. Her face was still a bit pale, but the light was back in her eyes.
"What is so funny?" I asked, trying to sit up.
"Keifer, baby!" a loud, annoying voice chirped from the corner.
"Oh shit," I muttered, immediately closing my eyes and pretending to go back to sleep. "Why did you let this idiot come?" I asked Jay through gritted teeth.
"I'm Jay's brother! I have rights!" Percy shouted, leaning over the foot of my bed with a grin that was way too bright for this early in the morning.
"Actually, no. I'm her brother," Aries cut in, pushing Percy aside.
"Okay, enough! Don't make any noise!" Tita Gemma hissed, swatting both of them.
The room was packed.
Angelo was there, Percy was vibrating with energy, and Aries was standing with his arm around Avery. I did a double-take. Yes, Avery. Aries had finally moved on from that Ella drama.
"Are you still pursuing Honey?" Jay-Jay asked Percy, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Oh Jay, don't even get me started on that!" Avery laughed, clutching her stomach. "I once told Percy I knew her, and omg, he wouldn't let it go! He said he wanted to meet her, so he took her number from me. They finally went on a date, but Percy came back with milkshake all over his hair!"
The room erupted into laughter, Jay-Jay laughing the hardest. I looked at the chaos around us—the noise, the idiocy, the brothers I'd die for, and the wife who had just given me everything.
I looked at my son, sleeping peacefully in Keigan's arms despite the noise. He was a Watson, alright. He could sleep through a riot.
I squeezed Jay's hand, and for a moment, the blood and the warehouse felt a million miles away.
"Next time," I whispered to Jay, "I'm hiring a guard specifically to keep Percy out of the building."
"Gago," Jay laughed, leaning her head on my shoulder. "He's family, Keifer. We're stuck with them."
I sighed, looking at my noisy, beautiful, chaotic family. "Yeah. I guess we are."
JAY-JAY POV
"So, Ate... Kuya won the bet," Keiran chimed in, sounding way too smug as he hovered over the baby's bassinet.
"It wasn't a bet!" I defended myself, crossing my arms over my chest and pouting. Gago talaga tong si Keiran, laging naghahanap ng ikaka-asar sa akin.
"Actually, baby, he's right. I won. So... what do I get in return?" Keifer asked, his voice low and teasing. He leaned back against his pillows, looking entirely too satisfied for a man who had just been stabbed a few hours ago.
"What happened?" Aries asked, looking back and forth between us while Avery giggled beside him.
"Your sister was so confident," Keifer said, smirking at me. "She was dead set that the baby was going to be a girl. She even had Angelo convinced. But look," he gestured to the tiny blue bundle Keigan was holding. "It's a boy. A mini-me."
"Even Angelo? Man, you guys really doubted the Watson genes," Percy laughed, popping a grape into his mouth.
"I didn't doubt the genes! I just... I had a feeling!" I argued, my face heating up. "Besides, he has your nose, Keifer. That's already a win for you."
"A deal is a deal, Jay-Jay," Keifer murmured, his eyes darkening with that possessive, playful look that always made my heart do a backflip. "I get to pick the middle name. And you have to agree to whatever craving I have for the next month."
"Excuse me? You're the one who isn't pregnant anymore!" I shrieked, making everyone laugh.
"Doesn't matter. I suffered through the 42-week wait too," he teased, reaching out to pull me closer to his bed.
"You're so unfair," I whispered, but I didn't pull away. I leaned my head on his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart.
"Maybe," he said, kissing my temple. "But I'm a winner. We both are."
I looked at my son, then at the noisy, chaotic group of friends who had become my family, and then at the man who would literally take a knife for me. I guess losing a bet wasn't so bad when the prize was this perfect.
2 WEEKS LATER
JAY JAY POV
After two weeks, I finally felt like a human being again. Recovering from labor was no joke—especially after 42 weeks of carrying a mini-Waston—but Keifer was the one still struggling. The stab wound from Yuri had been deep, and the doctors were strict about him not moving too much.
He hasn't left the mansion once. I know he's itching to go back to the warehouse to personally deal with Yuri, but I put my foot down. I told him he could go only when he's fully recovered. In the meantime, he gave the keys to Kuya Angelo and briefed him on everything. Knowing Kuya Angelo's temper, he probably already has a custom-made coffin ready for Yuri, but I try not to think about that.
I was folding Kevin's tiny onesies, looking over at the bed. Keifer was sitting there shirtless, his side heavily bandaged, playing with our son. We named him Kevin Jackson Mariano Watson.
Keifer looked so soft holding him, his large hands looking massive against Kevin's small body.
"Why are you smiling like that?" Keifer asked, catching me staring. He gently turned Kevin around so I could see his chubby little face.
"Jay, I think you're giving him too much milk. Look at this, he's getting so chubby," Keifer said, teasingly squeezing Kevin's cheek.
"So what? Healthy babies are supposed to be chubby," I said, walking over to them.
"Maybe you should give me some of his milk instead," he said, his voice dropping into that shameless, husky tone he used when he wanted to get under my skin.
I felt my face heat up instantly. I glared at him, though it was hard to be intimidating while holding a tiny pair of baby socks. "If you want milk, ask the maids to get you a glass from the kitchen. Don't steal from your own son, gago!"
"But I want your milk. It tastes better," he said with a smirk that was 100% Watson.
I'm pretty sure I turned into a literal tomato. I threw the pair of socks at his head, but he just laughed, catching them easily while keeping a protective arm around Kevin.
"Keifer! You're so shameless! There's a baby right here!" I hissed, reaching down to take Kevin from him.
"He can't understand me yet," Keifer chuckled, leanng back and wincing slightly as he pulled me down onto the bed next to him. He wrapped his free arm around my waist, pulling me close. "Besides, I'm just saying the truth. I'm hungry too, Jay-Jay."
"Eat a donut, Keifer," I muttered, hiding my burning face in Kevin's baby-scented neck.
"Already did. Now I want dessert," he whispered into my ear.
Gago talaga. Stabbing or no stabbing, Keifer Watson would never change.
Just then, Kevin started to cry, his little face scrunching up as a loud wail filled the room.
"Look, now you made him sad," I said, glaring at Keifer while I quickly moved to scoop the baby up. I rocked him gently, trying to soothe the mini-tyrant I'd given birth to.
"What did I do?" Keifer asked, looking completely offended. He put his hands up in a 'not guilty' gesture, though he still had that teasing glint in his eyes. "He's probably just jealous that I'm getting all your attention."
"Gago. He's two weeks old, he's not jealous of you," I huffed, walking around the room. "You're just too loud and shameless. You probably scared him with all that talk about milk."
"I'm not being loud, I'm being honest," Keifer stood up slowly, clutching his side as he limped toward us. He didn't wait for my permission before wrapping his arms around both of us from behind, his chin resting on my shoulder. "Hey, little man. Stop crying. Your mom is getting mad at me and I'm still an injured man. Have some respect for your old man."
Kevin actually quieted down a bit, blinking his big watery eyes at Keifer. It was unfair how much even a newborn listened to him.
"See? He knows who's boss," Keifer whispered, blowing a little air onto Kevin's cheek until the baby made a tiny, confused face.
"You're hopeless," I sighed, but I leaned back into his chest anyway. Even with the bandages and the smell of antiseptic still clinging to him, he felt like safety.
"I'm not hopeless, Jay-Jay. I'm hungry," he reminded me, his lips brushing against my neck again. "Since Kevin is quiet now... about that dessert?"
"Keifer Watson, I swear, if you don't sit back down and act like a respectable father, I'm calling Kuya Angelo to come back here"
Keifer froze, his eyes widening. "You wouldn't."
"Try me."
He let out a dramatic groan and trudged back to the bed. "Fine. But once I'm healed... no more donuts. I'm going for the real prize."
I bit my lip to hide my smile
++++++++++++++++++
Sorry I didn't post yesterday — my soccer match drained all my energy and I literally knocked out 😭💀
I also forgot to say it was Jay‑Jay's birthday. Even if she's fictional, she's such a sweet character. Always kind, always smiling, always there for everyone even when they hurt her. Happy birthday Jay‑Jay, we love you💙 🧡🎉
Another reason I didn't update… I started watching Off Campus 😭🔥 I know it's 18+ but it's actually so good. I'm only on ep 3 but I can't stop watching. I wanna start Perfect Crown too but haven't had time.
Quick update: I changed my username to June Moon 🌙 June is my middle name and Moon is my last name. My parents are wild for that 😭 My mom said it means "young," plus my parents met in June AND I was born in June, so my whole life is just coincidences.
Anyway, that's all for today. Hope you're enjoying the story — it's almost ending, so don't forget to comment and vote 💙✨
Bye, love you guys 🤍