Jay-Jay (POV)
"Where have you been hiding all this time without telling us?"
That was it.
My smile disappeared instantly.
The room suddenly felt cold again.
Before I could answer—
Kiefer walked toward me and grabbed my hand firmly.
"She's with me."
Jare stepped forward immediately, his expression darkening.
"What do you mean she's with you?" he asked sharply.
Kiefer tightened his hold on my hand.
For a second, he looked at me first… then slowly lifted his eyes toward my brothers.
"I hid her in London," he said calmly.
The second those words left his mouth—
Everything changed.
The warmth in the room vanished completely.
Everyone's expression darkened.
Angelo slowly lifted his head toward Kiefer.
And the look in his eyes made my blood run cold.
"Did you know this, too, Clyden?" Cole asked, turning sharply toward Clykuya.
Clyden stayed silent for a second before answering coldly.
"I found out by accident yesterday."
His eyes shifted toward Kiefer instantly.
And the glare he gave him was enough to make the entire room tense.
"You hid our sister? All this time??" Angelo asked quietly.
That tone was worse than shouting.
Kiefer didn't let go of my hand.
"Yes."
"Without telling us?" Cole snapped.
"She was safer with me," Kiefer answered calmly.
"Safer?" Jare laughed bitterly. "You disappeared with her for months, and you think we're supposed to stay calm?"
I tightened my fingers around Kiefer's hand instinctively.
Because I could already feel where this conversation was going.
Angelo stood up slowly.
Every movement he made felt heavy.
Dangerous.
Then suddenly—
Angelo lunged forward kiefer.
Cole Kuya immediately grabbed him before the punch landed.
"Kieran, Kiegen, Kai," Cole said without taking his eyes off Kiefer, "go to your rooms."
The kids instantly froze.
Even they could feel how dangerous the atmosphere had become.
Kai looked at me nervously before slowly walking toward the stairs with the others.
I quickly walked over to them and gently patted their heads.
"Nothing's going to happen," I whispered. "I promise you. And I brought chocolates for you guys… eat them in the room. I'll come talk to you later, okay?"
Then I looked at Kiegen and pulled him into a tight hug.
"Please look after them," I whispered near his ear. "And don't come downstairs no matter what happens, okay?"
Kiegen hesitated for a second before nodding seriously.
That small expression on his face almost broke me.
Because he understood.
Something bad was about to happen.
The kids looked at me one last time before slowly walking upstairs together.
And the moment they disappeared—
The silence downstairs became terrifying.
Cole slowly released his grip on Angelo's arm.
And Angelo punched Kiefer so hard—
His body slammed straight into the wall within seconds.
A loud crash echoed through the mansion.
"KIEFER!" I screamed.
I immediately ran forward to stop him—
But Angelo Kuya was already on him, gripping Kiefer's shirt tightly as he raised his fist again.
Section E reacted instantly.
Several of them stepped forward on instinct—
Then Angelo looked at them.
Just one look.
One terrifying glance.
And nobody dared move another inch.
The entire room froze.
It had been a long time since I had seen him like this.
Not just angry—
Furious.
"Kuya…" I whispered, quickly grabbing his arm.
The second he looked at me—
My entire body shivered.
Because the anger in his eyes was terrifying.
Raw.
Broken.
And somehow that hurt more.
What hurt even more—
Was Kiefer.
He didn't fight back.
Didn't block.
Didn't even try to stop Angelo.
Like he believed he deserved every hit.
And seeing him accept it so quietly made my chest ache painfully.
The entire room stayed silent.
Nobody dared interfere.
Then—
Angelo punched him again.
Harder.
Kiefer's head snapped to the side from the impact, blood instantly appearing near his lip.
"You hid my sister from us?" Angelo asked darkly.
His voice shook with rage.
"While we were losing our minds?!"
Kiefer slowly looked back at him.
Still calm.
Still silent.
That only made Angelo angrier.
"You watched this family break apart," Angelo continued, breathing heavily. "You watched us search for her like fucking maniacs—"
"Angelo—" Clyden started.
"DON'T!" Angelo roared without looking away from Kiefer.
The entire mansion fell silent again.
I grabbed Angelo's arm tighter, desperately.
"Kuya, please…" I whispered shakily.
But Angelo's eyes stayed locked on Kiefer.
"You think loving her gives you the right to take her away from us?" he asked.
Kiefer slowly wiped the blood from his mouth and tried to stand up—
But he couldn't.
My heart dropped instantly.
I quickly fell to my knees beside him.
"Are you okay?" I asked shakily while holding his arm carefully.
Then—
"JAY."
I flinched immediately.
Angelo Kuya's voice echoed through the entire room.
Slowly, I looked up at him while still holding onto Kiefer.
His expression was terrifyingly calm now.
Which was even worse.
"Go to your room," Angelo ordered coldly. "Now."
"Kuya…" I whispered weakly.
Before I could say anything else—
"I really mean it," he cut me off sharply. "Go. To your damn room now."
The entire room went silent again.
Because Angelo Kuya rarely spoke to me like that.
Ever.
I stared at him in shock.
But he refused to look at me this time.
His eyes stayed locked on Kiefer like he was seconds away from breaking him apart.
"Jay," Cole said more quietly, trying to calm the situation, "please go upstairs."
"No—"
"GO!" Angelo suddenly shouted.
I flinched instantly.
So did half the people in the room.
My throat tightened painfully
The entire mansion stayed silent.
Nobody dared to interrupt him.
I looked around helplessly.
Clyden Kuya avoided my eyes.
Jare looked tense.
Even Percy stayed quiet.
Section E was scared... Now I knew nobody could control him…
Then I looked back at Kiefer.
Blood stained the corner of his lips, but despite everything—
He still reached for my hand gently.
"Go," Percy muttered quietly.
My chest tightened painfully.
"But—"
"Jay," Kiefer interrupted softly. "Listen to your brother."
That hurt even more.
Because it sounded like he already knew what was about to happen to him.
Tears burned my eyes instantly.
"Kuya, don't hit him… he's already injured," I pleaded.
Angelo Kuya looked at me in disbelief.
"Jay… do you even realize what he did?"
I lowered my eyes for a second before forcing myself to speak.
"I know," I whispered. "It was my fault."
The room instantly fell silent.
I looked directly into Angelo Kuya's eyes.
"Kiefer asked for my permission before hiding me," I said softly.
My voice shook slightly, but I forced myself to continue.
"I wanted everyone to stay safe… so I asked Kiefer not to tell anyone."
It was only half true.
Kiefer had made the decision first.
But I accepted it.
Stayed silent.
And in the end…
That made it my fault, too.
Because I never asked him to bring me back.
Never stopped him.
Never thought about what my disappearance was doing to the people waiting for me.
I slowly lowered my eyes.
It was the only thing I could think of to stop him.
For a moment—
Angelo just stared at me.
Then suddenly—
He laughed.
Not because he found it funny.
But because he was angry.
Dangerously angry.
"Do you really think I'd believe that?" Angelo Kuya asked quietly.
My chest tightened.
Then Cole Kuya finally stepped forward.
"Are you seriously lying for this jerk now?" he asked.
That was when I noticed it.
His eyes were red.
Filled with tears, he was trying so hard not to let them fall.
My throat tightened instantly.
"You know how these five months were for us?" Cole asked quietly.
His voice cracked slightly.
"How hard it was to lie every time Kai asked for you…"
My breathing started shaking.
"While he cried every single night because he missed you."
Tears blurred my vision again.
"You know how many times Mia and Amy cried?" he continued. "Do you even realize how helpless we felt?"
Nobody in the room moved.
Nobody interrupted him.
Because the pain in his voice was too real.
"You know how Jare kept blaming himself?" Cole said while glancing toward him briefly. "He kept thinking he failed to protect you."
I slowly looked toward Jare.
He immediately looked away.
That hurt more than anger ever could.
"We were worried sick thinking this jerk—" Cole pointed furiously at Kiefer, "—was destroyed after losing you."
His voice hardened painfully.
"But this whole time…"
He laughed bitterly.
"He was playing games with us while hiding you."
The room became unbearably silent again.
"Kuya…" My voice shook as I lowered my head. "I knew everything."
My grip around Kiefer's hand tightened slightly.
"And I knew… I knew how all of you must've felt."
Tears kept falling, no matter how much I tried to stop them.
"But…" I looked toward Kiefer beside me. "He did everything to protect me."
The second those words left my mouth—
Angelo stared at me like he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Then he laughed bitterly.
A broken kind of laugh.
"Jay…" he muttered. "You're really defending him right now?"
His voice wasn't angry anymore.
"He's not some high school student," he continued harshly. "He runs Watson. He's not a kid who needs you to protect him."
I lowered my eyes silently.
"Every single time we talked about Kiefer, I stayed quiet because of you," Angelo said. "Even when I didn't want you to marry him… I still said nothing."
That made my chest tighten painfully.
"Because I care about you," he continued, his voice cracking slightly. "I trusted your choice."
The room stayed completely silent.
Nobody interrupted him.
Nobody even moved.
"And now you're standing here telling me you thought we couldn't protect you?"
His eyes were burning now.
"Us?" he asked bitterly. "We're your brothers, Jay."
Each word hit harder than the last.
"We have influence. Money. Power. You name it—we have everything."
Then his voice dropped quieter.
So much quieter.
"What made you believe we couldn't…" he asked painfully.
His eyes shifted toward Kiefer for a second before looking back at me.
"…and that he could?"
The silence became suffocating.
Then Angelo swallowed hard.
"What made you choose him over your family?"
The question shattered something inside me.
Because that wasn't what I did.
At least… not intentionally.
But standing there beside Kiefer—
Holding his hand while my brothers looked at me like I abandoned them—
It suddenly looked exactly like that.
Tears fell harder down my face.
"I didn't choose him over you," I whispered brokenly.
"Then why does it feel like you did?" Angelo asked immediately.
That made it worse.
It sounded hurt.
I swallowed hard.
"I'm not saying what we did was right," I whispered. "But please try to understand—"
"Understand what?" Angelo interrupted sharply. "That he hid you for five months?!"
His voice suddenly rose again.
"Or should I believe that we weren't trustworthy enough to know you were alive?"
My chest tightened instantly.
"Or maybe," he continued bitterly, "you thought I couldn't protect my own sister?"
Then he kicked the sofa beside him violently.
The sound echoed across the mansion.
I flinched immediately.
Because I had never seen Angelo this broken before.
Not even angry anymore.
Just… hurt.
Deeply hurt.
"That's not what I thought!" I cried quickly.
"Then what was it, Jay?" he asked, looking directly at me now. "Tell me."
The room froze.
Even I looked shocked at my own voice.
Silence.
Heavy silence.
Then Angelo slowly looked away and rubbed his face tiredly.
"You really chose him," he whispered.
That sentence broke something inside me.
"Kuya…"
Cole closed his eyes for a moment before speaking quietly.
"No one here hates you, Jay."
His voice softened painfully.
"We're hurt because we love you."
That made my tears fall harder.
Then Jare finally spoke from the side.
"You disappeared without even trusting us enough to stay beside you."
I looked toward Angelo immediately.
And for the first time—
I realized this wasn't just anger anymore.
I had truly hurt all of them.
The silence in the room felt heavy.
Painful.
Then, suddenly, Kiefer spoke quietly.
"It was my greed."
Everyone looked at him.
"I wanted her," he admitted calmly. "Needed her. And I took advantage of the situation so I could spend more time with her."
My eyes widened instantly.
"Kiefer—"
"You jerk," Angelo snapped immediately. "Don't talk or I swear I'll kill you right now."
But Kiefer didn't stop.
"Angelo—"
"What?" Angelo exploded. "I trusted you!"
The room froze.
Because that anger came from somewhere deeper.
Something personal.
"All those four years she stayed away from you, she was safe," Angelo continued harshly. "Now that you're back in her life, everything has changed."
His voice cracked slightly.
"And it hasn't even been a year yet… but she was already in danger of losing her life three times."
Every word hit harder than the last.
"I did everything so she could stay safe," Angelo said. "I tried to hide her. I warned you to stay away from her."
Kiefer lowered his eyes slightly.
"But then you made her fall in love with you."
The bitterness in Angelo's voice hurt to hear.
"And I hate admitting this to myself…" he continued, quieter, "but I believed you."
That made Kiefer finally look at him again.
"If there was anyone I thought could protect her better…" Angelo said painfully, "It was you."
The room went completely silent.
Because that confession carried years of trust inside it.
"I watched you grow up," Angelo continued quietly. "I raised you."
Kiefer's eyes shifted slightly.
Angelo swallowed hard before speaking again.
"I cared about you the same way I cared about Aries."
The room went completely still.
Because everyone knew what that meant.
Angelo wasn't someone who gave his trust easily.
Kiefer's jaw tightened hard.
Angelo laughed quietly again.
But this time—
It sounded exhausted.
"You know something?" he muttered bitterly. "When Jay disappeared… I doubted you, too."
The room stilled instantly.
Kiefer slowly lifted his eyes toward him.
"Because you disappeared too," Angelo continued. "And when I told you to leave her alone before all this…"
His voice lowered.
"I saw you cry in front of me."
My breath caught.
Even Kiefer froze slightly.
"And I saw what losing her did to you for four years," Angelo said quietly. "That's why I ignored my suspicions."
A painful smile appeared on his face.
Small.
Broken.
"I should've followed my instincts."
Silence filled the room again.
Because everyone understood what he meant.
Angelo trusted Kiefer like family.
Not just as my husband.
Not just as someone close to us.
Family.
And that was exactly why this betrayal cut so deeply.
"And now," Angelo continued, his voice rough with emotion, "you put me in a position where I can't even decide whether I should hate you for hiding my sister… or be grateful that she's alive."
Kiefer looked down for a moment before finally speaking.
"You can hate me," Kiefer said quietly.
Angelo let out a hollow laugh.
"You think I don't?" he asked coldly.
The words hit the room like a blade.
"I don't want you in my sister's life anymore."
My breath caught instantly.
"Not when I can't trust you enough anymore," Angelo continued. "Not when I can't handle another betrayal from you."
"Kuya—"
"I trusted you like family," Angelo snapped. "And you hid her from me."
Kiefer stayed silent.
Didn't defend himself.
Didn't argue.
That only made the atmosphere heavier.
I stepped forward quickly, tears still falling.
"Kuya… I know you love me," I whispered shakily. "And I trusted everyone, too."
Angelo's eyes moved toward me immediately.
"You believe me, right?" I asked desperately. "Can't you just overlook this one thing? I know I made a mistake, but please… don't say something you'll regret."
My voice cracked completely.
"In this room, everyone knows what Kiefer is. What he can do for me."
I looked toward Kiefer beside me.
"You think he can't fight back against you?" I whispered. "He's standing there taking everything because he knows he was wrong."
Kiefer's eyes shifted toward me slightly.
"But I don't regret being with him," I admitted honestly. "Even if my life was at stake."
The silence after that felt suffocating.
"So don't do this, Kuya," I begged softly. "Don't ask me to choose sides… when you already know I can't."
For a moment—
Angelo just stared at me silently.
Then his expression hardened again.
"Jay," he said coldly, "go upstairs."
My heart dropped.
"You're staying here from now on," he continued. "And that's final."
Then slowly—
He turned toward Kiefer again.
The anger in his eyes returned instantly.
"You jerk," Angelo said darkly. "Get out before I kill you."
The room froze again.
Kiefer slowly wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
Then he looked straight at Angelo.
"Why would I?" he asked calmly.
That answer alone made the tension explode again.
"She's my wife," Kiefer continued, standing there like he hadn't just been punched repeatedly. "And I have every right to stay beside her."
"You think I'll let you?" Angelo shot back instantly.
Kiefer's eyes darkened slightly.
"Try me."
The room went deadly silent.
"You might've forgotten," Kiefer said coldly, "but I'm a Watson."
A dangerous smirk slowly appeared on his face.
"And I can become a living beast when it comes to my wife."
That expression alone made Angelo's blood boil instantly.
Within seconds, Angelo grabbed Kiefer by the collar harshly.
"Then did you forget whose blood runs in me?" Angelo whispered darkly.
Kiefer only smiled at him.
Cold.
Provoking.
"Then what's stopping you?" he asked quietly.
"Kiefer, stop," Cole warned sharply.
But neither of them listened.
Angelo kept glaring at him while gripping his collar tightly enough to wrinkle the fabric in his fist.
The atmosphere became unbearable again.
I wanted to stop them.
Wanted to scream at both of them to stop hurting each other.
But suddenly—
A sharp pain tore through my stomach.
My breath hitched violently.
I froze.
No…
It wasn't time yet.
It wasn't my due date.
Another pain hit harder this time.
My knees almost gave out.
Then I felt something wet running down my legs.
Mia's eyes widened in horror.
"Jay…" she whispered.
Then suddenly she screamed—
"IT'S BLOOD!"
Everyone turned toward me instantly.
The room that had been filled with rage seconds ago turned into pure panic.
My breathing became unstable immediately.
Pain spread through my stomach so hard it felt like my body was tearing apart.
"Kiefer…" I whispered weakly.
The second Kiefer saw the blood—
Every trace of anger disappeared from his face.
Pure terror replaced it.
"Jay!"
I nearly collapsed right there.
But before I could hit the floor—
Kiefer caught me instantly.