....Continue.
AUTHOR'S POV
The next morning, the bright sun began to peek through the curtains. Jay Jay's eyes fluttered open around 6:30 AM. Thanks to Keifer's warm hands and the overnight massage, her cramps had settled into a dull, manageable ache. She looked up and saw him still sleeping soundly beside her, one massive arm wrapped securely around her waist.
But instead of panicking, Jay Jay felt completely pulled into his comforting weight. She was totally tucked into his embrace, like sleeping inside a warm, protective shell.
Everything felt so incredibly peaceful and safe that she didn't even try to wake him up or make him leave. She just snuggled deeper into his chest and let herself drift right back into a soft slumber.
Downstairs in the grand kitchen, a completely different mood hung over the Fernandez brothers as Angelo and Aries woke up early to face the day. They were sitting at the breakfast island, looking incredibly guilty and quiet.
"We shouldn't have screamed at her about that stupid meeting," Aries muttered grumpily, staring down at his coffee with a heavy sigh. "She just finished her first day of college. She was genuinely exhausted, and we acted like tyrants."
"I know," Angelo replied, his usual strict tone completely gone, replaced by pure regret. "We pushed her too hard. We did wrong, Aries. She has a lot of responsibilities, but she's still our little girl. Let's go upstairs and apologize to her before breakfast."
Trying to clear his mind, Angelo stood up, but as he stepped on the pedal of the kitchen trash can to throw away a napkin, the lid flipped open. Right at the top was a grease-stained delivery bag with an empty container of Jay Jay's favorite food and plastic wrapping from a brand-new pack of overnight pads.
Angelo reached down, inspecting the staple receipt. "A midnight delivery? The timestamp says 1:15 AM. And look at the delivery name... it says 'K.W.'... Watson."
Aries' eyes narrowed completely as a protective older-brother rage hit him, instantly replacing his guilt. "That Waston bypassed our security at one in the morning! He's upstairs right now!"
Furious, Angelo and Aries stormed up the grand staircase. They completely forgot about their apology. They didn't even knock as they threw the master bedroom door wide open, ready to drag the trespasser out. But the moment they stepped inside, the scene froze them in their tracks.
Keifer's POV
I was sleeping deeply, holding my marshmallow tightly against my chest, completely wrapped in the quiet peace of the morning. Suddenly, a violent crash shattered the silence. The bedroom door flew open so hard it hit the wall.
"Get up, Watson!" Aries' voice boomed like thunder through the quiet room.
Before I could even blink, a rough hand grabbed the heavy blanket and violently ripped it away from us. My instincts took over instantly. A dangerous growl tore from my throat as my eyes snapped open. I rose to my feet in one smooth, lethal motion, stepping directly in front of the bed to block Aries and Angelo from getting anywhere near her.
"What the hell do you think you're doing sneaking into our house?!" Aries yelled, his face twisting into a grumpy, explosive expression as his fists clenched. They looked like they literally wanted to kill me for being in her bed.
I didn't flinch. I leaned back, looking down at them with absolute dominance, and calmly held up my hand, letting the morning light catch the gleam of my ring.
"I didn't sneak in anywhere," I countered, my deep register vibrating with unyielding authority. "She is my fiancée. I have every right to be exactly where she needs me."
Angelo stepped in, throwing a hand up to stop Aries from swinging at me. His strict eyes shifted past my shoulder, looking at the bed.
Jay Jay was waking up from their loud shouting. She looked so small, pale, and completely fragile tangled in the sheets. Her blood pressure was incredibly low from her period, leaving her totally exhausted and drained. Seeing her like that made both brothers freeze, a heavy wave of guilt instantly taking over their faces.
But Aries' pride wouldn't let him drop it. He pointed an angry finger right at my face. "That doesn't give you the right to stay here the whole night without telling anyone! Not even Angelo! You think you can just do whatever you want in this house?!"
Behind me, I heard a weak, painful whimper.
Jay Jay slowly sat up, clutching a pillow tightly against her sensitive stomach.
"Stop screaming at him, Aries," she whined cutely, her voice sounding completely raspy, weak, and spent from being jolted awake by their yelling.
Both brothers snapped their heads toward her, their furious expressions instantly melting into pure worry.
"Jay, he shouldn't be in your room at this hour—" Angelo started, trying to sound grounded and firm.
"He's here because I asked him to be," she interrupted, her lips trembling into a small pout as a tear of pure exhaustion pooled in her eye. She glared directly at Aries, making him shrink on the spot. "I wasn't feeling well last night. I was in pain, and my body was completely exhausted. So I called him. I literally called him and told him to come to me. He stayed up all night taking care of me because my own brothers were too busy yelling at me about corporate responsibilities."
The room went dead silent. Angelo and Aries looked like they had just been slapped by reality. But Aries' jaw tightened again as he looked at me, his stubborn brotherly pride flaring up.
"Even if you called him, Jay, it doesn't give a Watson the right to just walk into this house like he owns it," Aries muttered, his voice lower but still incredibly grumpy. "There are rules before the wedding. We are only trying to protect you."
"Protect me?!" Jay Jay's voice cracked hysterically. "You call screaming at me about Mariano Corporate protection? You call bursting into my room and violently ripping the blankets away protection?!"
"Jay, calm down, your blood pressure is low i think," Angelo tried to step closer, his strictness completely gone, replaced by panic. "Aries was just shocked to find him here. We came up here to apologize to you for yesterday. We know we did wrong. We didn't mean to start a fight."
"I don't care!" she squealed softly.
The frantic energy of their shouting, the lingering aches, and the sharp cramps all hit her at once. Within seconds, a hot tear escaped her eye, and she broke down into a hard, deep cry. She buried her flushed face in her hands, her shoulders shaking violently as real, heavy tears poured down her cheeks. It wasn't a dramatic tantrum she was sobbing from pure, unadulterated exhaustion because they had completely ruined her peace.
Hearing her cry like that cut through me sharper than any blade. My blood ran white-hot with a lethal, protective fury. They had ripped away the warm, protective shell I spent the entire night building for her.
I turned on them, my dark eyes flashing with absolute malice as I stepped forward, completely cutting off their view of her. "Look at what you did to her," I growled, my voice dropping into a dangerous, low rumble. "Get the hell out of her room. Now."
"Watson, don't command us in our own—" Aries snapped, but Angelo gripped his shoulder tightly, physically dragging him back toward the hallway.
"Let's go, Aries. We've done enough damage today," Angelo said quietly, his voice heavy with pure defeat and regret.
"No!" Jay Jay suddenly choked out through her heavy tears, her small hands trembling as she pointed a finger directly at the door. Her beautiful eyes were completely blurred and red. "All of you... everyone leave! Just leave me alone!"
My chest tightened with a heavy pang of defeat. I immediately turned around, my fierce face softening into pure devotion as I reached out a large palm to soothe the sharp ache in her back. "Marshmallow, let me stay—"
"No, Keifer! You too!" she cried out hard, pushing my hands away with everything she had left. She grabbed the heavy blanket, pulling it all the way over her head to bury herself in total darkness. "You guys keep fighting and shouting, and my head feels like it's going to explode! I don't want to see anyone! Just get out!"
My hands stalled in the air, completely empty.
A dark wave of frustration and guilt washed over me. I hated seeing her in pain, and I hated even more that my presence was only adding to the chaotic noise spinning around her. I couldn't force my way into her space when she was this spent.
For the first time all morning, the bedroom went completely dead silent. Jay Jay was left entirely alone under the heavy covers, her breathing slowly leveling out as the quiet room finally allowed her exhausted body to rest.
Underneath the heavy sheets, Jay Jay slowly stopped crying and let out a long, exhausted sigh. Even though Keifer had left the room, his scent and the comforting warmth of his body were still trapped under the blankets, wrapping around her like a soft, invisible shield. Feeling that lingering protection, she curled into a ball and fell right back into a deep, heavy slumber, sleeping peacefully for hours.
It was only because Keifer had spent the entire night massaging her muscles and comforting her that she was able to sleep so deeply and peacefully without any pain. He had given her body the exact sanctuary it needed to recover from the low blood pressure and cramps.
It wasn't until late in the afternoon that Jay Jay finally woke up again. Her body felt a bit lighter, and the sharp cramps had settled down. She rubbed her face, her eyes still looking noticeably swollen and red—partly from her long, intense sleep and partly from the heavy tears she had cried that morning. 🤣
Clutching a soft sweater tightly around herself, she slowly walked down the grand staircase, her thighs still a tiny bit wobbly.
The moment she stepped into the kitchen, a completely unexpected sight greeted her.
Angelo and Aries—the two most powerful, strict, and intimidating corporate giants of the Fernandez family—were standing by the stove wearing matching aprons. They looked completely flustered, surrounded by flour, cracked eggshells, and smoking pans. Downstairs, they had spent the last few hours desperately trying to cook her absolute favorite breakfast comfort food as a clumsy, guilty apology.
"No, Aries! You're burning the garlic rice!" Angelo snapped in a loud whisper, waving a spatula around frantically.
"I am not burning it! The pan is just too hot!" Aries shouted back grumpily, his face covered in a smudge of flour. "If you didn't force me to flip the pancakes so early, they wouldn't look like deformed hockey pucks!"
Jay Jay leaned against the kitchen doorframe, completely ignoring their frantic voices. She walked right past them like they were ghosts, ignoring Angelo and Aries completely as they scrambled around the counter. Her cold shoulder sent her brothers into a total panic, causing Aries to drop a whole stick of butter into the burner, while Angelo accidentally tipped over the oil. Within seconds, thick black smoke billowed from the pans—they had completely burned the food to a crisp in their distraction. 🤣
Suddenly, a deep, familiar, and breathless chuckle echoed from the shadows of the dining room. Jay Jay blinked, turning her head in surprise. Sitting calmly at the dining table, looking devastatingly handsome in a crisp black button-up shirt, was Keifer. He had clearly ignored her "everyone leave" command and had come right back into the house through the front door this time, watching her brothers struggle with pure, smug satisfaction.
"I told you to just let the chef handle it," Keifer murmured smoothly, his dark eyes locking onto Jay Jay's face.
The instant he saw her red, sleepy eyes, his fierce expression softened into a look of pure, protective devotion. He stood up from his chair, completely ignoring her smoking brothers, and walked straight over to her. After so many attempts that morning to get close to her and protect her, this was finally his chance to talk to her in peace.
Angelo and Aries froze, coughing through the smoke, snapping their heads toward the door.
When they saw Jay Jay standing there with her messy hair and swollen eyes, a massive wave of older-brother guilt hit them both instantly.
"Jay!" Aries cleared his throat awkwardly, trying to hide a charred pancake behind his back. "You're awake. We... uh... we made you food. It's your favorite... Mostly."
"We want to apologize for this morning, little girl," Angelo added, his strict tone completely melting as he looked at her fragile frame. "We acted like tyrants. We shouldn't have invaded your privacy or yelled at you when you were already feeling low."
Jay Jay didn't say a single word to them, continuing to ignore her brothers' clumsy explanations. She didn't even look at the burnt kitchen. Instead, she just pouted cutely, letting her eyes drift over to Keifer as he reached her side.
His massive, warm hands smoothly anchored around her waist, pulling her flush against his broad chest to support her weight. He leaned down, pressing a firm, possessive kiss right on her forehead, his thumb gently tracing her flushed cheek.
"You still look completely exhausted, marshmallow," Keifer growled softly against her ear, his deep register sending a wave of comfort straight through her skin. "Come sit down. Let your guilty brothers clear out the smoke from their terrible cooking."
Jay Jay looked from Keifer's smug, protective face to her brothers' worried, messy expressions. Despite her determination to ignore everyone, a small, cute smile finally broke through her pout as she melted into her fiancé's secure hold.
Continue....