JAY-JAY POV
I woke up and checked the time.
Damn it.
It's already 9:30 AM.
Why did nobody wake me up?
Especially that horoscope — normally he'd be banging on my door at 7 o'clock like an alarm clock with anger issues.
I shot up from bed, heart racing.
Great. Perfect. Amazing.
Late again.
I got ready at lightning speed — brushed my teeth like I was in a race, threw on clothes without even checking if they matched, tied my hair while running around the room like a headless chicken
Something was off.
Very off.
I grabbed my bag, swung the door open, and marched out of my room ready to fight whoever let me oversleep.
Then my phone started to ring
It was an unknown caller.
What the hell?
I frowned and picked it up anyway. "Hello? Who is this?"
A voice on the other end laughed softly — too familiar, too smooth, too confident.
"Jay, sweety… how could you forget me?"
My stomach dropped.
I gripped the phone tighter.
"What the hell do you want?" I asked, already feeling my blood pressure rise.
"Nothing," she said sweetly — too sweetly. "Just want to see my niece."
My grip on the phone tightened. "Look, Eden, I'm not interested in your games. Just tell me what you want."
She laughed softly, that fake, elegant laugh she uses when she's about to ruin someone's life.
"Oh, Jay… always so defensive," she said. "Relax. I'm calling as family."
"Family?" I scoffed. "You lost that title a long time ago."
There was a pause — a dangerous one.
"Sweety, come to your parents' place," she said.
My grip tightened. "What the fuck do you want?"
"Nothing," she replied, voice too calm. "Just come. Your brother Raffy is also here… and also your classmates."
I froze.
My blood ran cold.
Raffy.
And my classmates.
With her.
"I'm telling you, if you do anything to them—" I started, voice shaking with anger.
But she didn't let me finish.
She just hung up.
The line went dead.
"Damn it," I whispered, heart pounding so hard it hurt.
Then a car honked outside.
I spun around.
Percy.
"Percy," I breathed out in relief. "Aunt Eden took—"
"I know," he cut me off, eyes sharp. "Get in."
I didn't argue. I ran to his car and slid inside.
But the second he started driving, I realized something was wrong.
This wasn't the way to my parents' place.
Not even close.
"Percy?" I said slowly, looking at him. "What the hell? Where are we going?"
"Sis, if we're gonna be there," he said, eyes locked on the road, "we better make it a show."
A show?
Before I could ask, he pulled into a huge, gated lot — rows and rows of cars, all polished, all expensive, all ridiculous.
He stopped the car.
I stared.
Then I smiled.
"Go pick a car you want," he said, leaning back like this was normal.
I didn't even hesitate. I walked straight to a sleek white car — clean lines, tinted windows, engine humming like a beast.
Thank God Papa taught me how to drive at 14 years old.
I made him.
I slid into the driver's seat, hands gripping the wheel like it belonged to me.
Percy leaned against the hood, smirking. "You look like trouble."
"I am trouble," I said, starting the engine.
It purred.
Percy whistled. "Good. Eden wants a show? We'll give her one."
My heart was still pounding from the call, from the fear, from the anger — but now something else mixed in.
Percy got into his car.
And just like that, we were both speeding toward our parents' place — the one I hadn't stepped foot in for a long time, even though it was right here in the Philippines.
My chest tightened the closer we got.
The roads were familiar.
The houses were familiar.
The air even smelled the same.
But everything inside me felt wrong.
I gripped the steering wheel tighter, knuckles turning white.
Then another car appeared in my rearview mirror.
A third car.
It slid into formation behind us like it belonged there — same speed, same distance, too smooth to be random.
My stomach twisted.
I didn't know whose car that was…
but it looked familiar.
Too familiar.
Maybe Eden's person.
Because only Mariano's know where the place is.
I swallowed hard, eyes flicking between the road and the mirror.
The third car stayed behind us the whole time — not too close, not too far. Just enough to remind me it was there.
Then we reached the place.
The gates opened automatically.
Slow.
Heavy.
Like they were welcoming me back into a nightmare I'd tried to forget.
Percy drove in first.
I followed right behind him.
The third car slipped in after us like it belonged there.
My heart hammered.
The driveway felt longer than I remembered — the trees taller, the shadows darker, the house bigger and colder than it ever looked in my childhood memories.
I saw Eden standing at the front of the house.
Then Section E behind her, all of them looking confused and out of place — like they'd been dragged into a family drama they had no business being in.
And it wasn't just Section E.
Aries was there.
Ella was also there.
My chest tightened.
I wasn't even close to Ella.
We barely talked.
We weren't friends.
So why the hell was she here?
Percy stopped his car in front of the mansion.
The third car behind us stopped too — whoever it was, I didn't care.
I didn't pay attention to who stepped out of the third car — I didn't care.
All I saw was Eden.
I swear I was about to run her over.
I hit the brakes so hard the tires screeched, stopping with barely an inch between her and my bumper.
She didn't even flinch.
Of course she didn't.
I got out of the car, slamming the door behind me.
Section E looked shocked — like they'd never seen me this furious before.
Even Percy paused, watching me like he wasn't sure if he needed to hold me back or let me go.
I looked straight at Eden
"You're blocking my driveway," I said, voice cold enough to freeze the air.
Eden smiled — that slow, poisonous smile she always used when she thought she had the upper hand.
"Welcome back, Princess," she said.
I looked at her in pure disgust.
Then she tilted her head, eyes glinting.
"Welcome back, Jare."
My heart stopped.
I turned.
Jare stood there.
Looking at me with that I'll explain later look — the one he always used when he knew he'd messed up but didn't want to say it in front of people.
Even Percy froze, eyes wide.
He didn't know either.
Keifer stepped closer to me, voice low and tense. "What the hell is happening here?"
I didn't answer.
"Let's go and have breakfast," Eden said casually, already turning her back and walking inside like she hadn't just dragged half my life into her twisted little show.
I made a fist and followed her inside.
Everyone tried to talk to me — Section E whispering, Aries calling my name, even Percy trying to calm me — but their voices felt far away, muffled under the pounding in my ears.
"Where the hell is Raffy?" I demanded.
Eden didn't even look back. "Well, that kid is inside your 'room'."
My heart jumped. "What?"
"He locked himself up there," she added, like it was nothing.
Thank God.
At least he was safe.
At least he was smart enough to hide.
I headed straight for the stairs, ready to sprint up and get him out, but Eden stepped in front of me, blocking my path with that fake, elegant smile.
"You will have time to go," she said, voice sugary and poisonous. "But for now, let's go and eat breakfast."
She pointed at the dining table like she was inviting me to a tea party instead of a hostage situation.
My jaw clenched so hard it hurt.
I walked over to the dining room and sat down.
There was food already laid out — plates arranged perfectly, utensils lined up like soldiers, everything too neat, too prepared, too staged.
Of course it was.
Eden didn't do anything without a plan.