JAY-JAY POV
After Kuya's lecture, I stomped into the kitchen like a warrior entering battle.
If they thought I ate too much?
Fine.
I'd cook my OWN food.
A small meal.
A cute meal.
A respectable, mature, adult meal.
That's what I told myself.
"Jay, sweety, why are you in the kitchen?" Tita asked, stepping in like she already knew something was wrong.
"I want to cook," I said proudly, chin up like a chef in a commercial.
Tita blinked. "I think we should just let the maid cook for you," she said gently, already trying to guide me out like I was a wild animal that wandered into the wrong habitat.
"It's fine, Tita," I said, waving her off. "I'm responsible now."
Her eyes drifted to the stove.
The stove…
With the burn marks.
The burn marks from last time.
I followed her gaze and winced.
Okay, maybe it looked a little… traumatized.
But that wasn't my fault.
"It was Ci‑N," I said defensively.
Tita raised an eyebrow. "Ci‑N?"
"Yes!" I said, pointing at the stove like it was evidence. "That kid was ordering me what to do. 'Turn it up, Jay.' 'No, higher.' 'No, faster.' 'No, don't stir like that.'"
Tita tried not to laugh. "And you listened?"
"He sounded confident!" I said. "He talks like he knows everything."
Tita sighed. "Jay, the stove caught fire."
"SMALL fire," I corrected.
"Jay, the maid had to use the extinguisher."
I crossed my arms. "It was a tiny extinguisher."
Tita pinched the bridge of her nose. "Jay…"
"I can do it," I insisted. "I'm making a respectable, mature, adult meal."
"Jay, you're banned from cooking, you know that," Kuya said as he walked into the kitchen, arms crossed like the kitchen police.
I gasped. "BANNED? Since when?!"
"Since the fire," he said flatly.
"That was SMALL," I argued.
"It melted the spatula," he replied.
I stomped out of the kitchen like a princess who'd just been exiled from her own kingdom.
I marched straight into the living room and plopped myself onto the couch next to that horoscope
"Ate, did you really burn the kitchen?" Raffy asked, eyes wide like he was about to hear the greatest scandal of his life.
"No," I said confidently.
"Yes," Aries said at the exact same time.
I whipped my head toward him. "WHY are you like this."
Raffy gasped. "ATE!"
"It wasn't even a real fire," I said, waving my hand dismissively. "It was a tiny, baby, infant spark."
Aries crossed his arms. "Jay, the flame touched the ceiling."
Raffy's jaw dropped. "ATE!"
"It was ONE TIME," I said.
Aries raised a finger. "Twice."
"ONE TIME," I repeated louder.
Raffy looked between us like he was watching a tennis match. "So… Ate burned the kitchen?"
Aries nodded. "Yes."
I rolled my eyes so hard I almost saw my brain.
Aries looked at me, sighed like he was carrying the weight of the world, and said, "Fine, let's go. I'll buy you something."
I blinked. "Huh?"
He stood up, grabbing his wallet like he already regretted every life choice that led him here. "You're sulking. When you sulk, you get annoying. When you get annoying, I suffer. So let's go."
I gasped. "Are you bribing me again?"
"Yes," he said without hesitation. "Because it works."
Raffy giggled. "Ate, you're easy."
I pointed at him. "HEY."
Aries grabbed my wrist and gently pulled me up. "Come on before you start another fire."
"I DIDN'T START A FIRE," I protested.
Raffy waved at us like a supportive parent sending off two problematic children. "Bye Ate! Bye Kuya Aries! "
We waved back
We started walking toward the market, the sun warm, the air peaceful — until Aries opened his mouth.
"Don't make my wallet broke," he said, already sounding stressed.
I immediately mimicked him in the most annoying voice possible. "Don't make my wallet broke."
He stopped walking and stared at me like he was reconsidering bringing me at all. "Jay."
"Aries," I said back, copying his tone perfectly.
He groaned. "Why are you like this?"
"Genetics," I said proudly.
He rolled his eyes.
"You're really not gonna talk to your mom?" Aries asked, voice low, like he was trying to sound casual but failing miserably.
"She is your mother too," I said, not looking at him.
Aries looked at me like I'd just said something ridiculous. "My mom is Mama Gemma."
"My mom is Mama Reycee," I shot back.
He clenched his jaw. "What about Jenna?" he asked, annoyed now, like the name itself was a bruise he didn't want touched.
I stopped walking.
The air between us tightened.
"Jenna is… Jenna," I said quietly.
Aries scoffed. "That's not an answer."
"It's the only one I have," I muttered.
"You're really not gonna talk to her?" he pressed, voice low, like he already knew the answer but wanted to hear me say it.
"What, she's really married to that Andy guy?" I shot back.
Aries rolled his eyes so hard I swear he saw his brain. "Jay, that's not the point."
"It is the point," I said. "She chose him. She made her life. I made mine."
Aries exhaled sharply. "Well, I heard when she and Kuya were speaking… she wants to take you to her house."
I stopped walking.
"Oh hell to no," I said immediately, loud enough that a tricycle driver turned to look at us.
Aries nodded. "That's what Kuya said. But more nicely."
I scoffed. "Of course he did. He's polite. I'm not."
Aries rolled his eyes so hard I swear he saw last week.
"If she wants to take me back," I said, chin up, "then I will go back to NYC."
Aries stopped walking.
Eyes on me like I'd just threatened to jump off a building.
"Jay," he said slowly, "don't say stuff like that."
"I'm serious," I said, shrugging. "She tries to drag me into her perfect little life? I'm gone."
Aries walked beside me, hands in his pockets, eyes on the ground. "I never really asked… but how was life in NYC before you got dragged here?"
I exhaled slowly. "Honestly? Mama Reycee took care of me like her own. Even after Percy showed up. Even after Raffy was born."
"And Grandpa and Grandma and Papa took care of me like I'm their princess," I added, a little smile tugging at my lips.
Aries snorted. "That's why you're so stubborn."
I glared at him. "Excuse me?"
He shrugged, completely unbothered. "You don't listen to anyone."
I rolled my eyes and kept walking.
"What about Jas? I never really heard about her?" he asked suddenly.
My steps slowed.
"Well, Jas and I… Jare," I said.
"Who the hell is Jare?" he asked, eyebrows pulling together.
Right.
Of course he didn't know.
"Jare is my oldest brother. We were triplets. Jare, Jas, me," I said quietly.
Aries blinked. "So… I have another brother now?"
I nodded.
He processed that for a second, jaw tightening just a little. "Where is he now?"
I stopped walking.
The market noise faded again — like the world knew this part wasn't meant to be loud.
"I don't know," I said softly.
Aries looked at me, really looked, like he was finally seeing the pieces I never said out loud.
"After the accident happened… Jas, Mama, Papa died," I whispered. "And Jare and I survived. But he got taken by someone."
"Who?" Aries asked, voice tight.
"Aunt Eden," I said.
His eyebrows shot up. "What?"
"She wants my inheritance Mama and Papa left me," I said, my voice sharper now. "They left some for Jare too. So when there was a chance… she took Jare away. And she was about to take me too, but Grandpa decided to send me here."
Aries stared at me like the ground just shifted under him.
"What inheritance?" he asked.
I let out a slow breath.
"The company," I said quietly. "The shares. The land. Everything Mama and Papa built."
Aries blinked. "Wait—what?"
"It was supposed to go to Aunt Eden first since she was the first child of Grandpa and Grandma," I explained. "But both of them found out about the schemes she did. They didn't trust her with that much money."
Aries nodded slowly, absorbing every word like it was a plot twist he didn't see coming.
"From what I know," I continued, "there's more to the inheritance story."
"Really? What is it?" Aries asked.
"I don't know," I admitted.
Aries stopped walking for a second, staring at me like I'd just handed him a puzzle with half the pieces missing.
"What do you mean you don't know?" he asked, softer this time.
I shrugged. "Grandpa and Grandma always said, 'When the time is right, you'll understand.' Mama Reycee said the same thing. Even Papa."
Aries frowned. "So they all knew something… but no one told you?"
"Pretty much," I said. "They kept saying it wasn't safe yet. That I was too young. That there were things I needed to know first."
Aries rubbed the back of his neck. "Jay… that sounds serious."
"It is," I said. "Aunt Eden wouldn't have gone this far if it wasn't."
Aries looked at me, eyes narrowing. "And you're telling me you've been walking around with this giant mystery inheritance hanging over your head like it's nothing?"
I shrugged again. "What do you want me to do? Cry about it?"
He sighed. "No. I just… I didn't know it was this big."
"Neither do I," I said quietly. "That's the problem."
Aries walked a little closer, his voice lower now. "Jay… whatever that 'more' is… we'll figure it out."
I looked at him, unsure if I wanted comfort or distance.
"And we could ask Kuya for help," Aries added.
I shook my head immediately. "No."
He frowned. "Even for helping find Jare?"
I swallowed.
That one hit deeper than I wanted it to.
"Aries, you don't get it," I said quietly. "Aunt Eden is worse."
"Even worse than Keifer's dad," I added.
Aries stopped walking again — like someone hit pause on him.
"What do you mean?" he asked, voice low, careful.
I looked straight ahead. "If Keizar had a sister, that would be Eden. But much worse."
Aries stared at me, eyes narrowing. "Jay… Keizar is already—"
"I know," I cut him off. "But Eden? She doesn't just hurt people. She plans. She waits. She manipulates. She makes you think she's helping you while she's destroying everything behind your back."
Aries' jaw tightened. "Jay… what did she do?"
I exhaled shakily. "She didn't just take Jare. She made sure no one could find him. She changed records. Paid people off. Lied to the police. Lied to Grandpa and Grandma. Lied to everyone."
Aries looked horrified. "Jay…"
"And she almost took me too," I said. "If Grandpa didn't send me here, I'd be gone. Just like Jare."
"Then we should tell Kuya," Aries said immediately, like it was the most obvious solution in the world.
"Kuya already has so many stuff on his plate," I said. "I already feel bad because of what happened with the company."
"But the company is doing fine now na Keifer helped," Aries said.
"Still," I muttered. "For now Percy and I are okay, but we're just scared for Raffy because she might take him to blackmail us."
Aries stopped walking again.
Not the dramatic kind — the terrified kind.
"Jay…" he said slowly, "you think she'd go after Raffy?"
"Well, obviously she can't take me or Percy," I said, shrugging like it was basic math.
Aries stopped walking again, eyes widening. "Jay. That's not— that's not a normal sentence."
"It's the truth," I said. "She can't touch me because Grandpa already hid my records. And she can't touch Percy because he's legally an adult and he'll fight back."
Aries stared at me like I'd just told him the sky was falling. "So you think she'd go for Raffy because he's the easiest to grab?"
I nodded once.
Aries ran a hand through his hair, pacing. "Jay, that's— that's insane. That's—"
"Eden," I said simply.
He froze.
I continued, voice low. "She's not stupid. She knows she can't get to me directly. She knows Percy will kill her before she even tries. But Raffy? He's young. He's sweet. He trusts people too easily."
Aries clenched his jaw. "Jay… that's not something you say casually."
"I'm not being casual," I said. "I'm being realistic."
Aries looked at me, horrified. "Jay, if she even tries—"
"She won't," I cut him off. "Because we're careful. Because Grandpa warned us. Because Mama Reycee made sure we knew what she was capable of."
Aries shook his head. "Jay… this is bigger than I thought."
"I know," I said quietly.
"And you've been dealing with this the whole time?" he asked, voice softer now.
I didn't answer.
I didn't need to.
Aries stepped closer, eyes sharp, voice firm. "Jay… she's not touching Raffy. Not while I'm alive."
I looked at him.
And despite everything — the fear, the heaviness, the secrets — I smiled.
"Okay, hero," I said lightly. "I'm hungry from all the talking. The mini‑market is right there, let's go."
Before he could argue, I grabbed his wrist and dragged him toward the little store.
He didn't resist.
He just let me pull him along, still tense, still thinking too much, but following anyway.
Inside, the cold air hit us and the shelves were stacked with snacks, drinks, and random things no one ever actually needs but always buys.
I grabbed chips.
Aries grabbed water.
I grabbed chocolate.
Aries grabbed more water.
I grabbed ice cream.
Aries stared at me like I was the reason he had wrinkles.
"You're impossible," he muttered.
"And you love it," I said, tossing the ice cream into the basket.
He didn't deny it.
We paid, stepped outside, and sat on the curb like two kids hiding from responsibilities.
The sun was warm, the street noisy, and for a moment… everything felt normal.
We ate quietly.
Just chips, ice cream, and Aries complaining about the price of snacks.
When we finished, we stood up and started walking home.
Aries kept glancing at me — not in the annoying way, but in the making sure you're okay way.
And I didn't say anything about it.
Because for once… I didn't mind.