Keifer's POV
I had to leave Uncle Kier's house early in the morning because of the long and tiring travel. Keigan and I had plans early, so I needed to prepare right away.
"Next time, bring your brothers here," Uncle Kier said.
"I will. Thank you for letting me stay, Uncle," I said and got inside the car.
The whole night wasn't enough for all our stories. So many things had happened between the seven of them, but what struck me most was what happened to my grandfather. He never married again after being left by the love of his life, but he nearly lost his mind trying to ruin the lives of those who tore them apart.
One true Watson beast.
He also told me many things that could help me control the attitude of a Watson. I just hope I can do it in time.
I fell asleep on the way and only woke up when the car stopped at the hotel. I went straight inside and headed to our suite.
Keigan was eating breakfast when I came in.
"How's your night with Uncle?" he asked before shoving food into his mouth.
"Not so bad. He gave me advice that could help me in the future."
He nodded briefly. "You should eat. We still have somewhere to go."
"Where?"
"Not too far from here."
He said he wanted to introduce me to someone. A woman I had met before.
I turned my back on him and went straight to my room. I entered the bathroom to shower. Under the pouring water, I closed my eyes and looked up.
I want to hear Jay-jay's voice. I miss her so much it's driving me insane. I want to go back so I can hold her. I want to kiss her so badly. After what I heard from Uncle Kier, I started to have hope for us.
But I have to endure—for her, for myself, for us. The people counting on me need me.
I turned off the shower and dried myself with a towel. I headed straight to the walk-in closet. While I was getting dressed, I heard my secret phone ringing. I rushed—worried Keigan might hear it.
I was about to look for my phone when someone held it up for me. The screen was facing me, clearly showing the caller.
Yuri's number.
I looked at the one holding my phone. I'm a bit surprised to see him here. He's holding his own cellphone, pressed against his ear.
"Do you want me to answer my call on my own phone?" I sarcastically ask.
He smirked before lowering my phone and ending the call on his.
"I just wanted to know something," he said and shoved his phone into his pocket.
I took my secret phone and stuffed it into my pocket. "What brings you here in London?"
Yuri crosses his arms. "You."
I chuckled. "Miss me?"
"In your dreams." He sighs. "Was that you?"
I turned my back on him and walked back to my closet. I continued getting dressed, picking up where I left off earlier.
"You're the one who did that to Mykel, am I right?" he asked, almost shouting.
"Lower your voice. Keigan might hear you."
"Just answer me," he said, clearly pissed.
He obviously didn't come here just to say hello.
"Yes, I did that to Mykel."
"Angelo's mad because you beat him to it."
I walked out of the closet while putting on my tie. He was still standing in the same spot.
"He was too slow." I looked at him after finishing getting dressed. "Is that all?"
"What's with you and your textmate game?" He raised a brow. "GagongBaliw."
Damn that name. Jay's really something when it comes to nicknames.
I looked at him seriously. No more games. No more jokes.
"I don't want to lose my connection with Jay."
"So you pretend to be someone else? How childish."
Our eyes didn't part. A silent clash of who's tougher, who'll hold out longer.
"I'm doing everything I need to do here. All I ask is to talk to Jay-jay, and now you want to take that away."
"Because you have to. Forget her. Jay-jay will only suffer more because of you."
I chuckled bitterly. "Look who's talking. Who was the one who set up the engagement that messed everything up? You made a plan and didn't even tell me."
"I was only protecting her from you."
"Protecting or securing? Afraid to lose again?"
He smirks. "I never lose, Keifer. They loved me first—when they were still with you."
My fist clenched. I badly wanted to punch his face to shut him up. But I know better.
"But Jay-jay loved me when you were suffocating her with that engagement." I said, and his smirk immediately disappeared.
"You think I'm doing this to win against you?"
I shook my head. "No. Because whatever you do, you'll never win against me."
I walked forward and slightly bumped his shoulder. Most likely, Keigan or Honey let him in. They probably told him which room was mine too.
I wasn't even close to the door yet when Yuri called me again.
"You're better off staying here. You've got nothing to go back to." He walked closer to me. "I'll make sure there's no Jay-jay left for you to return to."
I smirked at him. "Like you really can."
I turned my back on him and left the room. I was about to look for Keigan when I saw him walking toward me.
"You met—?"
"Did you let Yuri in?" I asked with authority.
He blinked twice before slowly nodding. "H-he said he was visiting you for some important matters."
"Whatever. Let's go."
I saw Honey standing by the door. She was wearing her usual outfit, which made me raise a brow.
"I'm not going," she said after seeing my questioning look. "I'll accompany your friend here."
"You can't fool him. He's not like Percy." I said and walked past her.
Keigan was silently following behind me, not even sparing me a glance. Every now and then, he would lower his head and rub the back of his neck.
We were already inside the car, but he remained the same. He mentioned earlier that the place wasn't far, but then he went quiet again.
I'm starting to feel bothered. The longer the ride takes, the weirder he becomes.
"Keigan, are—?"
"I'm okay." He cut me off.
He removed his eyeglasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. He even sighed multiple times.
I stared at him, about to reach out to his shoulder, when I caught a glimpse of a slight smirk on his face. It vanished quickly, and he leaned his head back. He put his glasses back on and glanced at me briefly.
I noticed something different in his eyes compared to earlier. But I couldn't be sure—it was only for a split second.
"Just a headache, but I'm alright now," he said before turning to look out the window.
I didn't take my eyes off him.
Dissociative Identity Disorder.
I'm not gonna close my eyes again on this matter. I know my brother needs help. He's not normal—and that's the painful truth.
"We're here, Sir," the driver announced.
I stared at the house—or more accurately, the mansion—at the top of the hill. The road circled around the hill leading up to the peak.
"Whose mansion is this?" I asked.
"You'll know," Keigan answered.
The large gate opened, revealing a vast lawn. The house was a bit of a distance from the gate itself. The huge fountain in front of the house was the first thing I noticed. We stopped in front of the entrance door.
Keigan got out first before I followed. A woman dressed in a maid outfit greeted us.
"Good morning, Sir. This way, please," she said, motioning for us to follow her.
I raised a brow. Why do I feel weird? Like something big is about to happen. I reached up to adjust my shirt collar.
I'm having trouble breathing.
Keigan walked ahead of us. I just followed silently, staring straight ahead at the path we were taking. I didn't even have time to look around.
We reached the second floor and the maid led us out to the terrace.
"She'll be here in a moment," the maid said before leaving us.
The first thing I noticed was a coffee table surrounded by benches. The terrace rails were covered with crawling plants.
"Who exactly are we meeting here?" I asked
"Someone from—"
"Keifer!" It was a woman's voice that stopped Keigan.
Both of us turned to look at her. She was walking toward us with a wide smile. My forehead slowly creased and my mouth dropped open as I realized who she was.
"Oh my God, Keifer!" she exclaimed, pulling me into a hug.
didn't respond. I didn't hug her back. I was in shock. After all these years, this was the first time I was seeing her up close again.
She pulled away and smiled at me. "Look at you! You're taller than me now!" She looked me over, checking every inch of my face.
"Good morning, Ate. Sorry we're late," Keigan said, and she turned to him.
"It's okay, at least you made it," she replied cheerfully, before facing me again. "Why aren't you saying anything? You're not happy to see me?"
I was struggling to find the right words to say. I was completely lost.
"Did a cat get your tongue?" she teased.
"Y-you—how?" I swallowed hard. "I-Ion…"
Her smile faltered a bit, but she managed to keep it up. "I think it's better if you call me Ate. Still no manners, huh?"
I'm confused as fck.*
There were so many things I wanted to ask, but I didn't know where to start. If Angelo found out I was face-to-face with her right now, he'd definitely lose his mind.
She started saying things I couldn't understand. Then suddenly, she grabbed my hand and pulled me to sit in front of the coffee table. She was still smiling and giggling while chatting with Keigan.
The same maid from earlier brought us sweets and tea.
"Come on, Keifer. Say something. You're just frozen there," she teased.
I finally managed to form a question. "H-how the f*ck did you two even know each other?"
Ion giggled as she set down her teacup. "I thought he was you. Then I remembered—you have a younger brother."
"She looked familiar, so I entertained her. That's when I found out you two knew each other," Keigan explained.
I don't remember introducing any woman to Keigan aside from Jay-jay. So how on earth did he recognize Ion? Whatever it is, it doesn't sit right with me.
My gut is telling me something's off.
"So how's life been? I heard you and your friends had an accident about three or four years ago," she asked.
I nodded shortly. "And because of that, we're no longer friends. Only Yuri and I are left."
I saw sadness in her eyes. "You mean, Aries and Percy aren't your friends anymore?"
I shrugged. "Why don't you explain where you've been all these years? And is this your house, by the way?"
She looked behind us toward the house. "No, this belongs to my friend. He just let me stay."
"He?" I raised a brow. "If Angelo finds out—"
"Please. Let's not talk about him," she cut me off.
She couldn't even meet my eyes. It was obvious she wasn't comfortable hearing his name. I wanted to laugh at how she was acting. She was the one who left, yet she had the nerve to avoid any talk about Angelo.
"So what do you want to talk about?" My voice began to rise.
Keigan noticed and cleared his throat as a warning. But f*ck this—I hated the way she acted like nothing had happened. Like she never left. Like she didn't leave everything hanging.
"Maybe we should talk about how great your life is now that you made it without him," I said sarcastically.
She clearly didn't expect me to say that. She even looked at Keigan as if asking for help.
"Kuya—"
"No. I would like to hear what she's about to say."
I could see her shoulders slowly rising and falling. She kept looking at Keigan, as if waiting for some kind of signal.
"Keifer, please—"
"What?" I sounded pissed.
I don't like being here. I don't have a single clue why we're here. And the more that was kept from me, the more pissed off I got.
Ion stood up and calmly faced us.
"I'm sorry, Keigan, but I don't think this is the right time to talk about the marriage—"
"What marriage?!" I almost shouted.
They both clearly looked shocked. I saw the panic in Keigan's eyes. He didn't even know which one of us to address first.
"Ate, I—I... Kuya, this—"
"WHAT MARRIAGE?!" I roared, feeling the rage boil inside me.
My fists were clenched so tight I could hear my own bones crack under the pressure
"He…he still doesn't know?" It was Ion. "I—I thought— I'm sorry, Keigan."
"Answer my question." I demanded, trying hard to stay calm.
The two exchanged glances again, almost waiting to see who would be brave enough to tell me the truth.
Ion sat back down and looked straight in the eyes.
"Keifer, the thing is... Keigan and I talked about this yesterday." She bit her lip and glanced at Keigan before continuing. "We talked about... you... and... I—"
My hands moved on their own. I slammed the coffee table, The saucers and tea cups shattered. Ion immediately stood and backed away, covering her mouth in shock. Keigan also stood and stepped back.
My breathing was heavy. I'm in rage and close enough to hurt my own brother.
"How dare you." It sounded like a whisper.
"Oh my gad," Ion said, looking scared at me.
"Listen, we had to do this. I was just getting ahead of the Elders and their plan. This is what they intended for you too."
"How dare you." I glared at him darkly. "How dare you!"
"Kuya."
I couldn't believe he could do this to me. I trusted him because he's smart, and I believed he wouldn't ever betray me.
"Stay away from me. I might hurt you Keigan."
Ion walked closer to me. She tried to touch me but I pulled away.
"Listen, Keifer. We both think that this is the right thing to do."
I chuckled bitterly. "For what? This is fvcked up!"
I turned to leave, ready to walk away from all of it—but I stopped when I saw two people standing there, staring at me. Of all the times… they just had to show up now.
"An engagement? Uncle doesn't know anything about this," Honey said, looking at Ion. "I think you're too old to be hitting on Keifer."
"I'm not hitting on him," Ion said casually.
But I wasn't interested in either of them. My gaze stayed locked on the one who came with Honey—watching as a mocking smirk slowly formed on his lips.
Fvck.
"You're doomed, Keifer. Of all people, it had to be Ion," Yuri said and smirked.
"Don't you dare."
"I am shutting my mouth. Because you're going to be the one to tell them. Angelo and Jay-jay. Not me."
My fist was already clenched, ready to land one on him, but Honey quickly stepped between us.
"Not now! We've been calling Keigan for a while but he's not answering. Maybe you should buy a new phone."
"What is it?" Keigan asked.
"Your Uncle Kier was rushed to the hospital."
Everything went black. Without a word, I walked out, hearing them call my name behind me—but my body had already made up its mind.
I made it outside and immediately signaled the driver.
"S-sir?"
"Hand me the car key."
He hesitated for a second but gave them to me.
I grabbed them and jumped in the car. I could see Keigan, Honey, Ion, and Yuri running after me from the house, but I'd already sped off before they could reach me.
Please… no. Not another one from my family.