°♡˖꒰Author's꒱˖♡° POV
Keifer burst through the door, nearly stumbling over a mountain of silk and down pillows. He was out of breath, his tie lopsided, looking less like a billionaire CEO and more like a man who had just survived a heist. He scanned the foyer frantically, his heart hammering against his ribs.
"Where is he?" Keifer hissed, ducking behind a particularly large velvet cushion. "Is he in the kitchen? Does he have his brass knuckles out?"
Honey leaned against the banister, watching him with a mischievous smirk. "Relax, big guy. The coast is clear. Angelo got a call from Aries—something about a business emergency. They're already halfway out of the Philippines. You're safe... for now."
The tension drained out of Keifer so fast he almost collapsed. "Oh, thank God," he whispered, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. "I thought my life was over. Where is she? Where's my stubborn kitten?"
"Sleeping," Honey softened, gesturing toward the living room. "She wore herself out protesting that she didn't need a nap."
Keifer dropped the bags of pillows and slipped into the room without a sound. Instead of the sofa, he lowered himself onto the cold hardwood floor beside her, the sharp chill seeping through his suit—but he didn't feel it. Nothing mattered except the quiet rhythm of her breathing.
As his eyes found Jay Jay's sleeping face, the "Cold Watson" dissolved completely, as if it had never existed. What remained was something softer, something unguarded—his gaze turning achingly gentle, almost sacred.
He looked at her the way one guards a fragile miracle, with a tenderness that felt deeper than thought, deeper than reason. There was a quiet, instinctive devotion in the way his eyes traced her features, as if his very presence was meant to shield her from anything that could ever harm her.
She wasn't just someone he loved in that moment—she was something to be protected, cherished, held in a silence so careful it bordered on reverence.
He didn't dare touch her, afraid even that might disturb the peace wrapped around her. So he stayed where he was, watching, breathing in sync with her, as though keeping silent vigil over the most precious thing he had ever known.
Honey walked over, her heart melting at the sight of the most feared young CEO in the city looking so utterly defeated by love.
"She really did a number on you, didn't she?" Honey whispered, sitting on the edge of the sofa.
Keifer didn't take his eyes off Jay Jay. He reached out, his large, trembling hand gently stroking a stray lock of hair away from her face with the lightest touch.
"She's so stubborn, Honey," Keifer murmured, his voice a low, melodic vibration. "I told her no. I told her the doctor said a week. I tried to be the adult... but she just looks at me with those eyes, and I forget how to breathe, let alone how to say 'no'."
Honey smiled, watching him gaze at her like she was the only star in the sky. "She's a Mariano. Once she sets her mind on something—or someone—it's over. You never stood a chance."
"You were lost the moment she chose you," she said softly, a knowing warmth in her voice.
"Not defeated… just hers, in a way you never stood a chance against."
"I know," Keifer whispered, a small, helpless smile playing on his lips as he watched the steady rise and fall of her chest. "She's so small, but she's the only person in the world who can make me feel like I'm the one who's small. I was terrified today... not because of Angelo's temper, but because I thought he'd take her away. I don't think I can function if she isn't in the same room as me."
He leaned his head against the edge of the sofa, never stopping the gentle stroking of her hair. "Look at her... she looks like an angel when she's sleeping. You'd never know she was planning to handcuff me two days from now."
Honey let out a soft, bubbly laugh. "She told you about the handcuffs? Oh, Keifer, you really are in trouble."
"I'm in heaven," Keifer corrected softly, his eyes full of a liquid, shimmering devotion. "I'll buy her every pillow in the world. I'll let her be as stubborn as she wants. As long as she stays mine."
Keifer's gaze remained anchored to her, his thumb tracing the curve of her cheek with a reverence that was almost painful to watch. He looked like a man who had discovered a miracle and was terrified to blink in case it vanished.
"Look at how small her hand is, Honey," he whispered, his voice cracking with a raw, sweet vulnerability. He gently tucked her tiny fingers into his large palm, marveling at the contrast. "I could crush her with one hand, but instead, she has me pinned to the floor without even trying. I spent all day in that boardroom, surrounded by people who are afraid of me, and all I could think about was coming back to this. To her."
He let out a shaky, adoring breath, a soft light in his eyes that made him look far younger than twenty. "She's so brave, isn't she? To love a man like me... someone so cold, so broken. She didn't just walk into my life ,she set fire to everything I thought I knew about myself. I used to think power was about control, but now I know power is just her saying my name when she's sleepy."
"I wasn't just lost I was drowning in the dark. She didn't stand on the shore and point toward the light—she dove in and pulled me out. She traded my grey skies for her kaleidoscope of color."
He leaned in closer, his nose almost touching hers, breathing in the scent of vanilla and lavender that always clung to her skin. "I was actually shaking in the car, Honey. My heart was hurting just thinking about her being sore because of me. I wanted to go back in time and punch myself for not being stronger. But then I remember the way she looked at me... like I'm her entire world. How do I live up to that?"
He looked up at Honey for a brief second, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears of pure devotion. "She's my life, Honey. Not my girlfriend, not my fiancée... she's the very air in my lungs. If she wants to be stubborn, I'll be her floor. If she wants to be a fire, I'll be the wood. I don't care about the doctor, or the law, or the Mariano's or farnandez anymore. I just care that she's warm, and safe, and mine."
He turned back to Jay Jay, his smile turning goofy and hopelessly smitten. "I bought the softest pillows in the country, but they're still too rough for her. She deserves clouds. She deserves the moon. I'll give it all to her... I'll give her everything she never even knew she wanted."
Jay Jay's eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks as the heavy fog of sleep began to lift. The first thing she felt was a strange, plush pressure all around her. She blinked, her eyes widening as she realized she was literally barricaded by a fortress of white, fluffy clouds. There were pillows everywhere—orthopedic ones, silk ones, oversized velvet ones—forming a soft wall that tucked her in from every side.
But then her gaze drifted lower, and her heart skipped a beat.
Keifer was still on the cold floor, his large frame hunched over the edge of the sofa. He was holding her hand like it was made of spun glass, his thumb tracing her knuckles in a slow, rhythmic circle. His "Cold Watson" mask hadn't just slipped it was gone. His eyes were red-rimmed and shimmering, and a single, happy tear tracked down his cheek, landing silently on the silk pillowcase.
"Keifer?" she whispered, her voice tiny and thick with sleep.
He jumped slightly, his head snapping up. For a second, he looked like a kid caught in a lie. He quickly tried to wipe his eyes with his shoulder, but he couldn't hide the raw, liquid devotion in his gaze.
"You're awake," he breathed, a wobbly, adoring smile breaking across his face. "I... I was just making sure the air was soft enough for you."
Jay Jay sat up slowly, looking at the mountain of pillows and then back at his tear-streaked face. She couldn't believe it. This was the man who made billion-dollar CEOs tremble? This was the "Viper" her brothers were so wary of? Here he was, crying soft, happy tears just because she was breathing.
"Are you... are you crying?" she asked, her voice filled with wonder. She reached out, her small fingers brushing the dampness on his cheek. "Why are you crying, my big, scary CEO?"
Keifer let out a shaky, broken laugh, leaning into her touch like a starving man. "I'm crying because I'm a fool, Jay Jay. I spent the whole drive home thinking I'd lost you to your brothers, and then I walk in and see you sleeping so peacefully... and I realized I'd do anything just to keep you this safe forever."
He squeezed her hand, his voice dropping to a vulnerable whisper. "I bought all these pillows because I was scared you were still hurting. I wanted to build a world where nothing could ever touch you or make you wince again. I'm just so happy you're mine, Jay Jay. I can't believe a girl like you chose a man like me."
Jay Jay's heart melted into a puddle. She leaned over her pillow-wall, cupping his face in both her hands. "You big dummy. I chose you because you're the only one who would buy a hundred pillows just because I had a little cramp."
She pulled him closer, kissing his forehead as he closed his eyes, leaning his heavy head against her chest. "But I'm still doing it again in two days," she whispered mischievously into his hair.
Keifer let out a sob-giggle, burying his face in her neck. He tightened his hold on her just a little, like he needed to stay right there."I know. I've already accepted my fate. Just... let me cry about how much I love you for five more minutes."
The house was silent, save for the soft hum of the air conditioner, as Honey pushed open the door to Jay Jay's suite. She expected to see a sleeping girl and a guilty man; instead, she stopped dead in her tracks, her breath hitching in her throat.
There, in the center of the massive bed—now a chaotic sea of luxury pillows—sat Keifer. He was leaned back against the headboard, his expensive suit jacket discarded, looking like a king who had finally found his throne. Jay Jay was practically a part of him. She was sitting squarely on his lap, her petite legs wrapped tightly around his waist, her small hands locked behind his neck as she buried her face in his shoulder.
She was sleeping as her habit without clothes on his chest like Koala, inside his shirt looking impossibly small against the dark sweep in his shirt. Keifer's hands rested on her back, steady and protective.
She had drawn herself close, as if the warmth of him was the only place her mind finally quieted—where the world softened into something safe and still.
"Oh," Honey whispered, her eyes wide as she stayed by the door. "I... I didn't mean to interrupt."
Keifer looked up, his expression guarded but steady. He didn't move to shift Jay Jay away; instead, he seemed focused on maintaining the quiet calm of the room.
"She finally calmed down," Keifer said softly, his voice low to avoid disturbing the girl. "She just needed to feel safe."
Honey stepped further into the room, her voice softening. "You've been sitting like that for an hour, haven't you? Keifer, you have meetings, and she needs proper rest in bed."
Jay Jay didn't move her arms from around his neck, but her voice was muffled against his shoulder. "The bed is too big. This is better."
"You're both impossible," Honey sighed, though a small smile tugged at her lips as she watched the stoic man remain perfectly still for the sake of the girl's comfort. "Keifer, people are looking for you. They expect the man in charge to be downstairs, not acting as a human armchair."
"They can wait," Keifer replied, his gaze returning to the girl in his lap. "Right now, this is the priority. Everything else is secondary."
"He's staying right here," Jay Jay added, tightening her hold slightly.
Honey shook her head, realizing that the usually cold and business-minded man had found something more important than his schedule. "I'll tell them you're occupied with a private matter. Just try not to stay frozen like that all night."
"No promises," Keifer whispered, resting his chin atop Jay Jay's head as the room fell back into a peaceful silence.