KEIFER POV
I watched Jay for a moment, her breathing rhythmic and peaceful, her small hand still clutching the edge of my pillow even as I slipped away. I tucked the duvet around her shoulders, pressing a feather-light kiss to her temple. "My cute little baby," I murmured, my heart swelling with a fierce, possessive ache.
But as soon as I stepped out of the bedroom and closed the door, the warmth in my eyes vanished.
I watched Jay for a moment, her breathing rhythmic and peaceful, her small hand still clutching the edge of my pillow even as I slipped away. I tucked the duvet around her shoulders, pressing a feather-light kiss to her temple. "My cute little baby," I murmured, my heart swelling with a fierce, possessive ache.
But as soon as I stepped out of the bedroom and closed the door, the warmth in my eyes vanished. The "Husband" was off-duty; the "CEO and Protector" was back.
I walked into my study, the moonlight through the large windows of our Manila villa casting long, sharp shadows. I sat at my desk and pulled up the security feed on my monitors, then dialed a private number.
"Report," I said as soon as the line picked up.
"Perimeters are clear, sir. Undercover units are stationed at both ends of the street. The armored SUV is prepped for tomorrow's doctor's appointment."
"Double the detail for the garden perimeter," I commanded, my voice cold. "If a bird flies over that wall, I want to know its wing-span. And make sure the 'cleaners' have swept the house for bugs again."
I hung up and leaned back, rubbing my face. I hadn't lied to Jay, not exactly—but I hadn't given her the full picture either. Uncle Henry and I were worried about the media, yes, but the real shadow was much closer to home.
My father.
The man had been a monster most of my life. My mother had been the only thing tethering him to humanity, and when she died, the tether snapped. He had vanished into the underworld, and for years, I didn't care. But six months ago, he crawled back out of the woodwork. He claimed he wanted "reconnection." He claimed he was proud of the man I'd become.
Lies. All of it.
I knew the truth the moment I saw his men loitering near Jay's office back in the city. He didn't want a son; he wanted a piece of the Watson empire. He saw my success as his retirement fund, and he saw Jay as my weakness—the leverage he could use to squeeze me for everything I'm worth.
And then there was Yuri. That bastard was still a thorn in my side, a loose end from our past that refused to stay buried.
With Jay pregnant, the stakes weren't just high—they were everything. I was surrounding her with a fortress of steel and silence. She thought we were in Manila for the "peace and the family," and while that was true, this city was also my territory. Here, with Uncle Henry's connections and my resources, I could bury anyone who dared to look at my wife the wrong way.
I looked at a photo of Jay on my desk, her smiling at the camera during our trip to the beach last year.
"Nobody touches you," I whispered to the empty room, my hands clenching into fists. "Not my father, not Yuri, not the world. I'll burn it all down before I let a single shadow fall on you or our child."
I picked up my phone again. I made quick calls again making sure everything is fine
I was across the hall and through the bedroom door in a heartbeat, my blood turning to ice at the sound of her scream.
"Keifer!" Jay cried out, her voice trembling.
I burst into the room, my hand instinctively reaching for the holster I kept hidden in the bedside drawer as I shielded her body with mine. "What? What happened?"
She was shaking, her face pale in the moonlight as she clung to my shirt, her finger pointing shakingly toward the balcony window. "There... there was someone there. A man. He was just... staring."
I lunged toward the glass, my vision narrowing with a murderous edge. "WHO THE FUCK IS IT?" I roared, throwing the sliding door open so hard it nearly jumped the track.
The balcony was empty, but as I stepped out into the humid Manila night, I caught a flash of movement near the perimeter wall—a tall figure dressed in black, moving with a calculated slowness that wasn't fear, but a taunt. He stopped for a split second, looking back. Even in the shadows, I recognized that posture. That cold, arrogant tilt of the head.
My father.
He vanished into the thick tropical foliage before I could leap the railing.
"Keifer, don't leave me!" Jay sobbed from the bed.
I forced my breathing to slow, though my heart was hammering against my ribs like a trapped animal. I stepped back inside and locked the heavy glass door, pulling the blackout curtains shut with a violent tug. I swept Jay into my arms, pulling her into my lap as I sat on the edge of the bed.
"I've got you, I've got you," I whispered hoarsely, smoothing her hair, though my eyes remained pinned to the door. "He's gone. He's not getting in here."
"Who was it? Did you see him?" she asked, her voice muffled against my chest.
I tightened my grip, the lie tasting like ash in my mouth. "Just a prowler, Jay. Probably some low-life looking for an easy score in a neighborhood like this."
I couldn't tell her. Not yet. Not while she was carrying our child and already so fragile. If she knew my father was in the city—that he had bypassed my perimeter and stood inches away from her while she slept—she would never feel safe again.
I grabbed my phone, my thumb flying across the screen to my Head of Security. 'He was at the balcony. Sector 4. Find him. Do not engage unless necessary, but if he resists, take the shot.'
"Keifer, you're shaking," Jay whispered, looking up at me with wide, tear-filled eyes.
"I'm just angry, Jay Jay," I lied, forcing a smile that didn't reach my eyes as I kissed her forehead. "I'm going to double the guards. Nobody is getting within a mile of this house starting now. I promise."
I held Jay until she finally drifted into a fitful sleep, but I didn't close my eyes for a second. I stayed awake, watching the shadows, waiting for the sun to rise so I could begin the hunt.
He wanted a reconnection? I'd give him one. I'd connect his neck to the cold ground before he ever touched a hair on her head again.
I stayed awake until the first light of the Manila sun began to bleed through the edges of the blackout curtains. My body was stiff, adrenaline still humming in my veins, but my eyes never left the door or the window.
When the sun finally rose, the room softened into a warm glow. Jay stirred against my chest, her eyelashes fluttering before she blinked her eyes open. She looked up at me, sluggish and beautiful, the terror of the night before somewhat smoothed over by sleep.
"Keifer," she murmured, her voice raspy.
"Hmm," I answered, a small, genuine chuckle escaping me at how cute she looked. Her hair was a mess, and her cheeks were slightly flushed from sleep. Every morning, regardless of the chaos outside these walls, she was the only thing that made sense.
"Did you sleep at all?" she asked, reaching up to rub the dark circles I knew were under my eyes.
"A little," I lied, catching her hand and kissing the palm. I couldn't let her see the storm brewing inside me. "I was just watching you. You're getting more beautiful every day, you know that?"
She smiled, leaning her head back on my shoulder. "Liar. I probably look like a wreck."
"The most beautiful wreck in Manila," I countered. I helped her sit up, making sure she was steady. "Stay in bed. I'm going to go get you some breakfast and talk to the security team about that... prowler. I want to make sure they've properly reinforced the gate."
"You're going to be overprotective today, aren't you?" she asked with a small sigh, though she didn't seem to mind.
"Today, tomorrow, and every day for the rest of my life," I said firmly.
I stood up, my joints popping. I needed to get out of this room and into the war room. I needed to see the footage. I needed to know exactly how he got past my men.
I walked to the door, but paused, looking back at her. She was sitting in the middle of the large bed, looking small but radiant.
"Jay?"
"Yeah?"
"I love you. More than anything."
She looked surprised by the intensity in my voice, but her expression softened into that gaze that always brought me to my knees. "I love you too, Keifer. Now go. Get me some eggs. The baby is hungry."
I nodded and stepped out, the smile vanishing the moment the door clicked shut. My phone was already in my hand.
"Unlce Henry," I said as soon as my uncle picked up. "He was here. On the balcony. I don't care what it takes—I want him found by noon. And tell the boys to get the secondary safe house ready. We might need to move sooner than we thought."
I sat at the kitchen island, the laptop screen open in front of me as I scrubbed through the high-definition footage of the East Perimeter. Jay was hovering nearby, trying to inject some normalcy into the morning. She was humming softly, plates of eggs and garlic rice between us. Every few seconds, she'd press a forkful of food to my lips, coaxing me to eat.
Usually, I'd melt under her touch. But my eyes were glued to the timestamp.
2:14 AM.
There. On the monitor, I saw it. Two guards on the East Coast sector were leaning against the stone wall. One of them wasn't just lax; he was huddled over his glowing phone screen, completely oblivious as a shadow—my father—scaled the trellis with the practiced ease of a ghost.
My jaw tightened until it ached. Rage, cold and sharp, crested in my chest like a tidal wave.
"Keifer? Babe, you're turning white. Just one more bite," Jay murmured, holding up a piece of toast.
I didn't take the bite. I stood up so abruptly the stool screeched against the marble floor. "I'll be back," I snapped, my voice vibrating with a lethality I usually tried to hide from her.
"Keifer!" Jay called out, her voice laced with concern and a hint of her usual fire. "Where are you going? You haven't even finished—"
"Stay here, Jay. Do not move from this kitchen," I commanded.
I expected her to argue. Jay was the most stubborn woman I'd ever met; she challenged me on everything from my business deals to what color tie I wore. But today, something in my tone—the raw, jagged edge of a man who had seen his worst nightmare standing over his pregnant wife—made her freeze. She just nodded slowly, her eyes wide.
I stormed out the back door, the humid Manila air hitting me like a physical blow. I didn't stop until I reached the East Coast detail.
"Explain to me," I started, my voice dangerously low as I approached the three men, "how an old man managed to stand on my balcony last night while you were 'on duty'."
The guards jumped, their faces draining of color. "Sir... we're sorry," one stammered, his eyes darting to the ground.
"I don't give a damn about your sorries!" I roared, the sound echoing off the villa walls. "What if he hadn't just been watching? What if he'd walked through that door? What if he'd touched my wife? Then what? Would your 'sorry' fix that?"
They stayed silent, trembling under the weight of my fury. I turned my gaze to the one I'd seen on the monitor. "You. Why were you on your phone?"
He swallowed hard, his hands shaking at his sides. "Sir, it... it's just that..."
"EXPLAIN, DAMN IT!"
"Sir, please," the guard next to him interjected, his voice desperate. "His daughter... she has stage three cancer. She had a crisis last night. He was just checking to see if she made it through the surgery."
The air left my lungs in a sharp hiss. The red mist in my vision cleared, replaced by a hollow, bitter silence. I looked at the man—really looked at him. He looked exhausted, his eyes bloodshot, a man torn between the need to provide and the need to be at a hospital bedside.
I knew that desperation. I knew what it felt like to want to protect someone you loved more than life itself.
"Get out," I said quietly.
"Sir, please! I need this job, the insurance—" he started to plead, his voice breaking.
"I said get out," I repeated, rubbing the bridge of my nose. "Take your things. Go to the hospital and stay with your daughter. I'll have my office clear your daughter's medical bills in full. You'll receive your full salary for the next six months while you're on leave. Just... go be with her."
The man stared at me, stunned, tears welling in his eyes. He tried to thank me, his voice choking up, but I waved him off. I couldn't handle the gratitude—not when I was still vibrating with the urge to break something.
Once he hurried off, I turned to the remaining guards. My face shifted back into a mask of cold granite.
"The rest of you? This is the last and only warning you get. I pay you three times the market rate because I expect perfection. I am buying your eyes, your ears, and your lives if necessary. If I see a single lapse in concentration again, you won't just be fired—you'll be blacklisted from every security firm in Southeast Asia. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!" they chorused, snapping to attention.
I turned on my heel and headed back to the house. I needed to keep it together. I needed to go back inside, wash the scent of anger off me, and pretend for Jay that our world wasn't drifting toward a waterfall.
As I stepped back into the kitchen, Jay was still sitting where I left her, clutching a mug of tea. She looked up, searching my face for the man she knew.
"Is everything okay?" she whispered.
I walked over to her, sliding my arms around her waist and burying my face in the crook of her neck. The scent of her—vanilla and home—slowed my racing heart.
"It's fine, Jay Jay," I lied, kissing the pulse point at her throat. "Just a small personnel issue. Everything is under control. I promise."
But as I held her, my eyes drifted back to the security monitors reflected in the glass of the oven. I wasn't just going to wait for my father to come back. If he wanted to play in the shadows of Manila, I was going to turn the lights on—and then I was going to burn the whole forest down.
I stayed there for a moment, letting the lingering scent of her shampoo ground me before the storm. I leaned down and pressed a long, lingering kiss to her forehead, my lips lingering against her skin as if I could physically shield her from the memory of last night.
"Go get ready, Jay Jay," I said, my voice finally dropping back into the gentle baritone I reserved only for her. "We have an appointment. The doctor is waiting to see how our little troublemaker is doing."
Jay nodded, a small, weary smile tugging at her lips. She reached up, framing my face with her hands, and peppered kisses across my forehead and both my cheeks. "Don't work too hard while I'm upstairs," she whispered. "You look like you're ready to go to war, Keifer. Just breathe."
I watched her walk away, her gait slightly heavier now with the weight of our child, until she disappeared into the safety of our bedroom. The moment the door clicked shut, my posture shifted. The softness fell away, leaving only the hard, jagged edges of the man I had to be to keep her.
I pulled out my phone and swiped to the encrypted group chat with my lead tactical team.
[K.W.]: Convoy departs in 30 minutes. Lead car, my armored SUV, and two tail cars. No motorcycles allowed within fifty feet of the vehicle. If a bike lane gets too close, hem them in.
[Security Lead]: Copy that, sir. Route is cleared. Sniper overwatch confirmed at the medical plaza.
I tucked the phone away and walked back to the monitors, re-watching the clip of that guard on his phone. I had handled the man with mercy because of his daughter—Mother would have wanted that—but I couldn't afford any more cracked armor.
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