JAY JAY POV
NEW YEAR'S EVE
New Year finally came, and the atmosphere in the mansion was vibrating with a tension that had nothing to do with the fireworks outside. I stood in front of the full-length mirror, adjusting the midnight-blue gown Tita Serina had given me. It fit like a second skin—shimmering, elegant, and making me feel like a stranger to myself. She had practically begged me to wear it tonight, and I couldn't say no to that hopeful look in her eyes.
Then, the familiar click of the connecting door echoed through the room.
"You can't stop being a creep for even one day, can you?" I asked, turning around with my hands on my hips and my sass fully loaded.
The words died in my throat.
Keifer was standing there, leaning against the doorframe, looking absolutely devastating in the matching midnight-blue suit. The dark fabric made his eyes look piercing, and the watch I'd given him was strapped firmly to his wrist, catching the light. He looked less like the King of Assholes and more like a prince from a dark fairytale.
"Mutya," he murmured, his gaze traveling from the hem of my gown up to the silver infinity necklace resting against my collarbone. He looked completely floored, his usual smug composure momentarily shattered.
"Stop staring. You'll catch flies," I snapped, though my heart was doing a frantic rhythmic gymnast routine against my ribs.
"Hard not to," Keifer countered, regaining his footing and stepping into the room. He closed the gap between us until I could smell the faint scent of his cologne. "I told you that blue would look better on you than it does on me."
"Tss. Flattery won't save you" muttered, looking away. "Tonight is the night. Tita said we'd understand everything. If you're still hiding things from me by the time the clock strikes twelve..."
Keifer reached out, his fingers tilting my chin up so I had no choice but to look at him. His expression was a mix of intense possessiveness and a haunting vulnerability I'd only seen since he mentioned Percy's "death."
"Whatever happens tonight, Jay-Jay... just remember the necklace," he whispered, his thumb tracing the 'K' and 'J' engraved in the silver. "Infinitely. No matter what they say downstairs."
A chill that had nothing to do with the air conditioning ran down my spine. The weight of the midnight-blue gown felt heavier with every second that passed.
"What are they going to say, Keifer? What is about to happen?" I whispered, my voice trembling.
"I don't know. Mom didn't tell me much either," Keifer admitted, his gaze darkening with a rare flicker of uncertainty. He looked at me, his hand reaching out to steady me, his fingers lingering on my waist
He leaned in, the scent of his cologne and the heat radiating off his suit jacket enveloping me. Before I could ask anything else, he captured my lips in a kiss—brief, intense, and desperate. It wasn't one of his usual 'penalties' or a territorial claim; it felt like a silent promise that no matter what reached us downstairs, he wasn't letting go.
"Whatever happens," he murmured against my lips, "stay on the right track, Mutya."
Then, a loud, sharp knock on my main bedroom door made us both jump.
"Jay! Keifer! Get down here right now!" Jare's voice shouted from the hallway. He sounded frantic—breathless in a way that had my twin-senses screaming. "They're here. Everyone is here!"
The urgency in his voice was like a physical jolt. Keifer's grip on my hand tightened for a split second before we moved, our footsteps heavy on the grand staircase.
As we rounded the landing and the foyer came into view, the fear evaporated, replaced by a surge of pure, unfiltered joy.
"Mama! Papa!" I cried out.
Standing there, looking exactly like they did the day they packed me off to the Philippines, were my parents. They looked polished and regal, but to me, they just looked like home. I didn't care about the secrets, the midnight-blue dress, or the cryptic warnings for a second. I let go of Keifer's hand and practically flew down the remaining stairs.
"Mom!" I said, throwing my arms around her and burying my face in her shoulder. The familiar scent of her perfume washed over me, a sharp contrast to the humid, tropical air of the mansion.
"Oh, my little Jay-Jay," Mom whispered, hugging me back just as tightly. She smoothed my hair, her touch warm and comforting. "Look at you. You look absolutely stunning in that gown."
I pulled back just enough to see Papa standing right behind her, a rare, soft smile on his face. I reached out and pulled him into the hug too, feeling the solid, steady presence that I'd missed more than I realized.
"We missed you, Princess," Papa murmured, kissing the top of my head.
I beamed at them, my face lighting up with the first genuine, carefree smile I'd had in a long time. Everything felt right. My parents were here, Christmas was over, and the new year was starting with my family back together.
I barely had time to process my parents' presence before another figure stepped into the light.
"Baby sistah," Percy chirped, his voice cutting through the tension like a blade. Before I could say a word, he pulled me into a suffocatingly familiar hug, smelling of expensive cologne and London rain.
I leaned into him for a second, but I could feel the atmosphere in the room curdle. I looked over Percy's shoulder and my heart stopped.
Keifer was frozen. He looked like he'd seen a ghost—or like he was looking at a dead man walking. Standing beside him, Yuri and Aries were in a similar state of shock, their faces drained of color, their eyes wide with a mix of horror and disbelief. Tita Serina had insisted on having all her top businessmen present for this huge announcement, but I didn't realize that meant staging a supernatural reunion.
The silence was deafening. Every eye in the room was pinned on the brother Keifer swore was buried four years ago.
"Percy, let's go. We have a lot to talk about," I said, my voice tight. I grabbed Percy's arm, desperate to get him away from the lethal glares and the suffocating confusion of the foyer.
"Wow, sis, you missed me way too much," Percy joked, stumbling as I hauled him toward a quiet study off the main hall. He was still wearing that breezy, arrogant smirk, completely oblivious—or pretending to be—to the fact that he'd just dropped a nuclear bomb on the people in this room.
But I wasn't letting the others stay behind. I reached out and snagged Keifer's hand, then gestured sharply for Yuri and Aries to follow. They moved like zombies, their gazes locked on Percy's back as if the moment they looked away, he'd vanish into thin air again.
We practically burst into the quiet room. I slammed the door shut and threw the lock, the click sounding like a gunshot in the small space.
"Alright, start talking," I demanded, spinning around to face Percy.
Percy leaned back against a mahogany desk, crossing his arms and looking between Keifer and Yuri with a flicker of recognition that sent a chill down my spine. "Nice to see you again, boys," he said, his voice dropping the playful act just enough to show the sharp, calculative edge beneath.
The tension in the small, locked room was suffocating. I stood there, backed against the mahogany desk, feeling like the air was being sucked out by the ghosts of a past I never knew existed.
"Percy, explain how you're still alive," Aries demanded, his voice low and vibrating with a dangerous edge.
Percy leaned back, his usual arrogant mask flickering. "After the accident, Mom found me. She took me straight to London. I've been living there for four years."
Jare and I stayed quiet, the weight of that revelation sinking in. I remembered how much Percy used to hate Mom when he first arrived in London—how he'd go days without speaking to her, his eyes filled with a resentment that seemed too heavy for his age. Now, it finally clicked. She had stolen his life. She had severed every tie he had to the Philippines and forced him to become a ghost.
"Then why four years? Why make us think you were dead?" Yuri asked, his voice cracking.
"Because Mom didn't allow me to talk to anyone from the Philippines," Percy answered flatly. "No phones, no letters, no internet. I was a prisoner in a five-star hotel until they felt it was safe for me"
"You didn't even want to give us a hint? A sign?" Keifer asked, his eyes dark and accusatory. He looked like he wanted to punch Percy and hug him at the same time.
"I tried, Keifer!" Percy snapped.
"Well, not enough," Yuri spat back, his grief turning into bitter poison.
The reaction was instantaneous. Percy lunged forward and gripped Yuri's collar, slamming him back against the bookshelf. "You weren't there!" Percy yelled, his face inches from Yuri's. "You don't know what they did to keep me quiet!"
"I was there when the accident happened!" Yuri roared back, shoving Percy's hands away. "I was there when Aries pushed you to save himself!"
The room went deathly silent. My blood ran cold, and I felt like the floor was tilting. Aries? Pushed Percy? I looked at Aries, expecting to see a denial, but he just looked like he wanted to kill Yuri right then and there. Aries would never do something like that—it went against everything I knew about him.
THWACK.
Percy's fist connected with Yuri's jaw before anyone could blink.
"Percy!" I started to rush forward, but Jare's hand clamped onto my arm, pulling me back.
"Stay out of it, Jay," Jare whispered, his face pale.
Percy stood over Yuri, his chest heaving with a raw, primal rage. He didn't look like the playful brother who joked about his 'glow' anymore. He looked like a man who had been betrayed by the very people who were supposed to be his brothers.
"You bastard... is that what you two actually thought?" Percy asked, his gaze swinging between Yuri and Keifer. He sounded heartbroken beneath the anger. "That Aries would do something like that? That he'd trade my life for his?"
The silence that followed was heavy with four years of misplaced blame. I looked at Keifer, seeing the flicker of doubt in his eyes, and then at Aries, who was staring at the floor with a jaw so tight I thought it might snap.
"Then why don't you explain it?" Yuri spat, his voice trembling with the weight of the lie he'd lived with for four years. "Tell us exactly what happened on that road!"
"You bastard! I was the one who pushed Aries!" Percy roared, his voice cracking with a raw, primal emotion. "He tried to stay! Even then, in that wreck, he wanted to help me. But I knew if he stayed in that car, the water would take us both. I pushed him out to save him! I chose for him to live!"
The silence that followed was deafening. I felt like the floor had been pulled out from under me
Keifer turned slowly toward Aries, his expression a haunting mix of shock and dawning realization. "Then why didn't you tell us?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous. "Why the hell did you let us believe you were a coward for four years?"
In a flash of movement, Aries lunged. He grabbed Keifer by the collar of his expensive suit, slamming him back against the wall with enough force to make the framed photos rattle.
"Because you never gave me the chance!" Aries yelled right into Keifer's face, his composure finally shattering. "You didn't give me time, and you sure as hell never asked for an explanation! You looked at me like I was a murderer the second I crawled out of that ditch, and you never stopped!"
"Both of you, get off each other!" I screamed.
I didn't wait for them to obey. I shoved my way between the two literal giants, putting my hands on their chests and pushing with every ounce of strength I had. I felt the hard muscle of Keifer's chest and the trembling rage in Aries' arms.
The room felt like it had suddenly run out of oxygen. My hands, which were still pressed against Keifer and Aries' chests to keep them apart, went numb. I slowly pulled them back, the fabric of their suits slipping through my fingers like sand.
"Let them talk, Jay!" Percy roared, his voice bouncing off the high mahogany walls.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Hey lovies 🤍✨
I'm actually so happy right now — I thought my geometry test was today, but it's not 😭💗 It's actually on Wednesday, so I have a little more time to breathe. I'm still nervous, but I think I should be okay… hopefully 😭📚✨
Also… how many of you are Potterheads? Because I am, and I heard about the new movie and I don't know how to feel 😭💗 Like yes, the cast looks good, but I'm still attached to our original trio. They're literally my childhood, so I'm not sure if I'm ready for a whole new version 😭🌿✨