Keifer's POV
The gala was a sea of false smiles and expensive perfume, but I navigated it with lethal, business-like precision. I in my suit (check comment )
I moved through the crowd in full business mode, every handshake a calculated move, every nod a silent assertion of my new authority. I could feel the eyes of the board members tracking me—some with newfound respect, others with the same lingering hunger to see me fall.
"Keifer," a cold, familiar voice cut through the music. It was my uncle, flanked by the rest of my 'dear' relatives. "A word. In private."
I followed them into a soundproofed side room. To my surprise, Ion—my ate—was already there, looking pale and restless. As soon as the door clicked shut, my grandfather stepped forward, his expression hard as flint.
"The board is still restless about your age, Keifer," he began, his voice devoid of any grandfatherly warmth.
"To solidify your position and keep the Watson bloodline absolute, we've made a decision. You will be engaged to Ion. It's the only way to merge the strongest branches of the family without outside interference."
The room went deathly silent. I saw Ion's eyes widen in absolute horror. She was as shocked as I was. "You can't be serious," she whispered, her voice trembling.
"I refuse," I said, my voice like a gunshot. "The law says I'm the head of this enterprise. I don't take orders on who I sleep with or who I marry."
One of my uncles stepped forward, a nasty, triumphant smirk on his face. "You think you're in a position to refuse? We know about the girl, Keifer. Jay-jay, isn't it? Such a fragile thing to be caught in the middle of a family war. One word from us, and she becomes collateral damage."
In an instant, the last of my patience snapped. I didn't just get angry—I roared. The sound was primal, vibrating against the walls as I stepped into his personal space, my shadow looming over him. My hand gripped the back of a chair so hard the wood groaned.
"Don't you dare , take her name with filthy mouth 😡"I missed my voice low, terrifying version."You really think you can threaten me using her or my brothers or my friends .Then you are wrong ❌.No body can touch them."
I leaned in closer, my eyes burning with a darkness that made him flinch
"Be in line with my girl, you will see the side my mother raised —the side that knows how to endure and outlast you all.
But cross that line, and you will know why I carry my father's name. I won't just stop you. I will erase you."
I didn't wait for a response. I turned on my heel and walked outwith Ion, the heavy throb in my shoulder a reminder that I was done playing defense. The war was officially on.
The silence that followed my exit wasn't just quiet—it was paralysed.
I didn't need to look back to know I had shaken them to their very core. My uncle, the one who had been so bold a moment ago, stood frozen, his hand still mid-air where he had tried to gesture.
His face had drained of all its smug color, replaced by a sickly, grey pallor. His breath hitched in his throat, a sharp, ragged sound that betrayed the sheer terror vibrating through his limbs.
My grandfather, always the stoic pillar of the Watsons, looked as if he had seen a ghost. His eyes, once sharp and calculating, were now wide and frantic, darting toward the door I had just slammed.
He gripped the edge of the mahogany table until his knuckles turned a ghostly white, his chest heaving as he struggled to process the raw, unfiltered dominance I had just unleashed. He didn't see a boy anymore; he saw a predator he could no longer cage.
Clyde, who usually strutted around like the heir apparent, looked like he had been struck by lightning. He was visibly trembling, his hands shoved deep into his pockets to hide the way they shook. He stumbled back until his spine hit the wall, his breath coming in shallow, jagged gasps.
The cocky smirk he always wore had been ripped from his face, replaced by a mask of pure, unadulterated horror. He looked at the closed door as if a demon was waiting on the other side, finally realizing that no amount of hired assassins could kill the beast I had become.
But it was Keizer, my so called father, who looked the most undone. The man who had orchestrated the hits on me, the man who hungered for my inheritance like a starving dog, was paralyzed. He stood there, his face a ghastly shade of white, sweat beginning to bead at his temples despite the air conditioning. He tried to speak, to perhaps hurl one last threat, but his jaw just worked silently like a fish out of water.
Keizer's eyes were wide and bloodshot, filled with a sudden, frantic realization: he hadn't just failed to kill me—he had hunted a monster that was now hunting him back.
The sheer power in my "roar" had stripped away his delusions of grandeur. He looked aged, broken by the weight of my father's name echoing in his ears. He knew, in that moment, that if he even whispered Jay's name again, I wouldn't just take his money—I would take his life.
They were no longer plotting; they were surviving. And as I walked away, I knew their terror was only just beginning.
They thought they could use Jay as a pawn. They thought they could use her to break me. But as they stood there, shaking and silent, they finally understood: Jay isn't my weakness. She is the reason I will burn their world to the ground if they ever touch her.
The adrenaline was still screaming through my veins as I walked away from that room, leaving the scent of their fear behind. My pulse was a rhythmic thud against my temples.
Then, my phone vibrated in my pocket.
I pulled it out, my breathing still heavy, and saw a notification from Queen 👑. My grip on the phone softened instantly. The monster I had just unleashed retreated into the shadows the second I saw her name.
Queen 👑
Hoy, Gagonbaliw.
Since it's your birthday, I'll be nice. Stop hallucinating that I'll have wet dreams about you.
The only thing I'm dreaming about is you finally falling off a cliff so my notifications can rest in peace. 🙄
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, a low, genuine chuckle breaking through my anger. The sheer normalcy of her sarcasm was like cold water on a wildfire. Just like that, the "Head of Watson Enterprises" vanished, and I was just a boy hopelessly in love with a girl who wanted to push him off a cliff.
*Me*
A cliff, Queen? How romantic. You want me to fall so you can be the one to catch me?
*Queen*
I'd let you hit the ground. Twice. Just to be sure. Now go eat some cake and choke on it (respectfully). 🍰
I leaned my head against the cool marble of the hallway wall, closing my eyes. My shoulder was still bleeding under my blazer, and my family was literally plotting my demise, but her insults felt like a lullaby.
She had no idea she was currently the only thing keeping me from going back into that room and finishing what Keizer started.
Just wait for me, Jay, I thought, a small, tired smile tugging at my lips. I'll survive every cliff they push me off, just to come home and annoy you for the rest of our lives.
"A second ago, you were roaring like a lion in that room, ready to tear everyone's heads off," a voice said softly.
I looked up to see Ion standing a few feet away. She looked shaken, her eyes still wide from the chaos of the meeting, but she was watching me with a mix of awe and confusion. "And now... you're smiling at a phone screen like nothing happened."
Without a word, I turned the screen toward her. I let her see the message from Queen 👑—the one where she told me to choke on cake and stop having wet dreams about her.
Ion read it, a small, sad realization dawning on her face.
Her expression softened, and she looked at me with a newfound clarity. "So that is the reason..." she whispered. "That girl. She's the reason you were willing to break her heart and walk away from everything back then, isn't she? To keep her away from this... this den of monsters."
I pulled the phone back, my thumb brushing over Jay's name. "She's the only reason I'm still sane, Ate. She hates me right now, and honestly, I don't blame her. I'd rather have her hate me and be safe than love me and be a target for people like Keizer."
Ion stepped closer, her voice trembling slightly. "They were going to force us to marry, Keifer. I was so scared. I didn't think anyone could stand up to Grandfather like that.I agreed to meet Watson only so I can go back Philippines and sought things with Angelo "
I looked at her, seeing the fear she had been hiding under her poise. I reached out and squeezed her hand—a rare moment of affection in this cold house. "Don't worry about them anymore, Ate. You're my sister, not a pawn."
Her eyes filled with tears, but she blinked them back, nodding slowly. "Thank you, Keifer."
"I mean it," I added, my voice turning firm again. "I'm the head of this family now. I promise you, I will help you with them. I'll make sure they never use you as a bargaining chip again. I will help you to go philippines also."
A look of pure relief washed over her, and for the first time in years, she looked like she could actually breathe. We stood there for a moment—two survivors of the Watson name—finding a small piece of peace in the middle of a war zone.