KEIFER POV
VIOLENCE WARNING
The silence in the warehouse was heavy, broken only by the sound of Jason's wet, ragged breathing. I stood over him, the iron rod in my hand feeling like an extension of my own rage.
"Let me ask you this question again... who else was in your shitty plan?" I asked, my voice calm—which was always when I was at my most dangerous.
I didn't wait for the stuttered answer. I swung the rod, a solid, sickening thud connecting with his shoulder blade. He let out a scream that tore through the rafters, his body bucking against the restraints.
"I—I don't know!" Jason wheezed, spit and blood flying from his lips. "I just got a call... he told me to threat your wife, and then I'd get my revenge for the deal you ruined... and I got money! A lot of it!"
I felt a vein pulse in my forehead. Someone had funded this. Someone had used Jason as a blunt instrument to dismantle my life. In the process of the interrogation, a spray of crimson had ruined the cuff of my white dress shirt.
I felt disgusted. Not by the blood, but by the fact that this filth even touched the fabric I wore when I hugged Jay-Jay. I unbuttoned the shirt, pulling it off and tossing it to one of my men standing in the shadows.
"Get this to the office. Burn it. I don't want a single trace of this place following me back to her," I commanded.
Now, I was just in my black undershirt, the fabric clinging to my frame, my tattoos—scars of a life Jay-Jay tried to keep me from—fully visible. I gripped the iron rod again and stepped closer, a dark, predator's smirk pulling at my lips.
"Who is it, Jason? Give me a name, or I start taking teeth," I whispered.
I leaned in, the shadows of the warehouse making my eyes look like voided pits. "Do you think I care about the money? Do you think I care about the revenge? You took eight months of my child's life away from me. You made my wife sleep in a cold bed in a state I couldn't reach. Every second she was gone is a debt you're going to pay in skin."
I raised the rod again, the cold metal catching the dim light.
"The name, Jason. Who paid you?"
"It… it was a burner phone!" he cried out, shaking so hard the chair rattled. "But the voice… he sounded like he knew you. He called you Keif.' He said the Keif needed to learn what happens when he gets too soft for a girl!"
My grip tightened on the rod until my knuckles cracked.
Only people from the old circles—the ones I left behind for Jay—called me that.
"Wrong answer," I hissed.
I swung. The sound of the rod hitting his kneecap was a sharp, final crack. Jason's scream was cut short as he choked on his own agony, his head lolling forward.
I stood back, breathing heavily, my chest heaving. I looked at my hands—they were steady, but the darkness inside me was roaring. I had to finish this. I had to find the source. Because as long as this 'shining ghost' from my past was out there, Jay-Jay and the baby weren't truly safe.
"Clean him up," I told my lead security officer, tossing the iron rod onto the ground with a clang. "Keep him alive. I want him to watch when I find his benefactor. And get me a fresh shirt. I have a wife waiting at home who thinks I'm at a board meeting."
I walked out of the warehouse, the sunlight blinding me for a moment. I took a deep breath, forcing the monster back into its cage. By the time I reached the mansion, I would be the husband who complained about boring meetings and kissed her belly. But in my head, the list of names was already growing.
Nobody threatens a Watson. Nobody.
JAY JAY POV
Finally, the front door opened and Keifer walked in, looking crisp and professional in a fresh white shirt. He barely had a foot in the door before Keiran scrambled off the floor and ran toward him like a survivor seeking rescue.
"Kuya! Save us!" Keiran cried out, grabbing Keifer's arm and pulling him toward the living room.
Keifer stopped, his eyes instantly darting to me with that sharp, protective flicker I was becoming used to. He looked me up and down, checking for any signs of distress before his gaze landed on my lap.
"What happened?" Keifer asked, his voice low and serious, still carrying that leftover intensity from his 'meeting.'
"Look!" Keiran pointed at me and then at the massive spread on the coffee table.
I was sitting there, surrounded by four different delivery boxes. I had a piece of fried chicken in one hand, a slice of pizza in the other, and a tub of chocolate ice cream waiting in the wings.
"She's a monster, Kuya!" Keiran whispered loudly. "She made me call three different places because she couldn't decide between salty, sweet, or spicy. I've been holding the dipping sauces for thirty minutes! My hands are cramping!"
Keifer's tension visibly bled out of his shoulders. He let out a long, slow breath and set his briefcase down. A small, amused smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as he looked at the chaos I had created.
"Is that all?" Keifer asked, walking over to me.
"It's not 'all'!" I defended myself, taking a defiant bite of the chicken. "The baby wanted variety! Keiran is being dramatic. He ate half the nuggets anyway."
Keifer ignored his brother's complaining and sat down right next to me, his presence immediately making the room feel smaller. He reached out and tucked a stray hair behind my ear, his thumb lingering on my cheek.
"Did you get everything you wanted?" he asked softly, his eyes searching mine.
"Almost," I said, pointing to a bag of chips that was just out of reach. "But your brother refused to get up again because he said he was 'on strike.'"
Keifer shot Keiran a look that could have frozen a volcano. Keiran immediately scrambled to grab the chips and placed them in my hand.
"My mistake, Ate Jay. Striking is for people who don't want to live," Keiran muttered.
Keifer chuckled and leaned down, whispering into my ear, "I told you he was a leader in there. Only a Watson heir could demand a feast like this and have a grown man shivering for dipping sauces."
"It's a girl, Keifer! She just has good taste!" I argued, though I leaned into his side, finally feeling complete now that he was back.
"We'll see," he murmured, kissing my temple. "But for now, keep eating. I want you well-fed and happy. I have a lot to make up for."
I didn't know what he meant by that, but with the food in front of me and his arm around my waist, I didn't care.
After my massive dinner, Keifer decided I needed exercise, which to him meant walking around the garden. The problem? The Watson garden wasn't just a garden—it was a two-mile landscape of hills, fountains, and endless pathways.
"Keifer, please," I groaned, looking at my swollen feet. "I feel like a bowling ball on sticks. I can't do two miles."
"Come on, baby, it's good for the little one. You need the circulation," Keifer said, already gently tugging me toward the glass doors.
I tried to plant my feet, but he wasn't having it.
"If you don't walk with me, then you won't get that milk chocolate you like later. No walking, no treats. Come on."
After my massive dinner, Keifer decided I needed "exercise," which to him meant walking around the garden. The problem? The Watson garden wasn't just a garden—it was a two-mile landscape of hills, fountains, and endless pathways.
"Keifer, please," I groaned, looking at my swollen feet. "I feel like a bowling ball on sticks. I can't do two miles."
"Come on, baby, it's good for the little one. You need the circulation," Keifer said, already gently tugging me toward the glass doors.
I tried to plant my feet, but he wasn't having it.
"If you don't walk with me, then you won't get that milk chocolate you like later. No walking, no treats. Come on."
I huffed, but the threat to my chocolate was too real. I went with him, waddling slightly as we stepped onto the moonlit path. The air was cool, and the scent of jasmine filled the garden. As we started to walk, my mind wandered back to the names I'd heard during my time away.
"Keifer... do you know a Yuri Hanamatchi?" I asked.
Keifer stopped mid-stride. His entire posture stiffened, and he looked at me with a flash of genuine shock—and something else I couldn't quite place. Anger? Wariness?
"What do you know about him?" he asked, his voice low.
"I don't know much, but I do know another Yuri," I said, thinking back days. "I once overheard that Aries' ex-girlfriend, Ella, dumped him for a guy named Yuri. I don't know if it's the same one. Someone once told me that you and Aries fought over Ella back then, and that's why your relationship as friends is messed up and—"
"Who told you all this nonsense?" Keifer asked, his voice sharp. He looked genuinely mad now, his jaw tight.
"I just overheard it! But tell me the truth," I asked, wrapping my hands around his arm and leaning my head against his shoulder to soften his mood. "Are we talking about the same person?"
Keifer let out a frustrated sigh, looking out at the darkened trees. "We used to be best friends. The four of us—me, Aries, Percy, and him. But not anymore. We're more like enemies now. He's... not someone you want to be around, Jay."
"Really? So wait, Yuri Hanamatchi and our old friend Yuri are the same person?" I asked, my heart sinking.
He nodded slowly. "Why did you ask? Did someone mention him to you while you were gone?"
"Because when I was living away, I had a student named Yochi," I explained, my mind racing. "She told me she was moving here in a few weeks and that her brother would come around to help me in the classroom. I didn't know if we were talking about the same Yuri, that's why. But from what you're saying... the Yuri I knew doesn't sound like the guy who would be 'helping out' in a school. He sounds dangerous."
Keifer stopped walking and turned to face me fully, grabbing both of my shoulders. His eyes were scanning my face, intense and filled with a sudden, sharp alarm.
"Jay, listen to me," he said, his voice dropping into that commander tone again. "If a man named Yuri—especially a Hanamatchi—comes anywhere near you or that classroom, you call me. Immediately. I don't care if he's being nice or helping a sister. That man has a history with our family that goes way beyond a high school breakup."
He pulled me into a tight hug, his hand protectively cupping the back of my head.
"The world is getting small, Jay-Jay," he whispered into my hair. "And I'm starting to think your hiding spot wasn't as secret as we thought."
I felt a chill run down my spine that had nothing to do with the night air.
"But Keifer—" I started, wanting to tell him that the guy I saw didn't look like an enemy.
"If you ever see him, you tell me. Alright?" he cut me off, his voice firm. He wasn't asking; he was commanding. His eyes were dark, devoid of the teasing light they usually had when we were alone.
"Keifer, he seems nice though," I argued softly. I remembered how Yochi spoke about him—how he was a doting brother. "And Yochi really likes him, maybe he's changed?"
Keifer just looked at me. He didn't say a word, but that look—that cold, "you-have-no-idea" stare—was enough to make me shut up instantly. It was the look of a man who knew secrets that weren't meant for me.
"Fine," I mumbled, looking down at my feet. "I'll tell you."
Keifer's expression softened immediately. Seeing that I'd surrendered, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me into his side and kissing the top of my head. The tension bled out of his frame as quickly as it had appeared.
"Good girl," he whispered.
We continued our walk, but the conversation shifted to much lighter things. We talked about how we were going to rearrange the nursery—he wanted everything in black and gold (gago, it's a baby room, not a hotel lobby), while I was insisting on soft yellows and plenty of shelves for snacks.
"If it's a boy, he's getting a mini-gym," Keifer joked, guiding me over a small stone bridge.
"And if it's a girl, I'm teaching her how to trick you into buying her everything she wants within the first five minutes," I shot back.
"She won't have to trick me, Jay," he said, his voice turning serious for a heartbeat as he looked at my bump. "I'm already wrapped around her finger and she's not even out yet."
I giggled, feeling the little one kick as if she heard him. We walked for another twenty minutes, talking about the stupid things Keiran and Percy had done while I was gone, and for a while, I almost forgot about names like Yuri and Jason.
But as we turned back toward the lights of the mansion, I couldn't help but peek at Keifer. He was smiling and talking about high-end strollers, but his eyes were still scanning the treeline of the garden every few seconds.
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