[Jay's POV]
The foyer was filled with the sounds of departure. The heavy, expensive trunks belonging to Della and Josh Chen were being loaded into a sleek black SUV. I stood on the landing of the grand staircase, Keifer's hand resting possessively on my hip, as we watched the scene unfold.
I expected a full farewell. Instead, Della Chen turned to Mamma Serina and Pappa Keizer with a practiced, elegant smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
Serina, Keizer," Della began, her voice smooth. "We've been discussing Bridget's upcoming semester. Her university is nearly an hour from our estate, but it's barely fifteen minutes from here. It would be such a strain on her to commute so far every day."
Josh Chen nodded solemnly. "We were hoping you might grant her permission to stay here in the Watson house for the next two years while she completes her studies. It would give her the stability she needs."
I felt Keifer's grip on my hip tighten until it was almost bruising. I could practically hear his brain calculating the "Intrusion Variable."
Mamma Serina glanced at Pappa Keizer. There was a long, heavy silence. In the world of elite families, a request like this—framed as "family support"—was almost impossible to refuse without causing a major diplomatic incident between the Watsons and the Chens.
"Family is family," Pappa Keizer said finally, his voice deep and neutral. "If it aids her education, Bridget is welcome to stay for the duration of her degree."
"Thank you, Keizer," Della beamed, casting a triumphant look toward her daughter.
Bridget was standing by the door, her eyes immediately darting to Keifer. The look on her face wasn't one of a grateful student; it was the look of a hunter who had just been given the keys to the preserve. She looked at me, and her smirk was cold enough to frost the marble floors
Two years.
The data was clear: Bridget wasn't here for a degree in Business or Arts. She was here for a degree in Keifer Watson.
As her parents' car pulled away, Bridget turned back to the room, her shoulders back, her presence suddenly much larger. "Well," she said, her voice dripping with artificial sweetness as she looked at me. "It looks like we'll be seeing a lot more of each other, Jay. I hope you're prepared for the long term. Systems have a way of... wearing down over time, don't they?"
Keifer leaned down, his lips brushing my ear, his voice a low, dangerous growl meant only for me. "Let her stay for twenty years, Jay. It won't change the math. She's a guest; you're the owner. I'll make sure she never forgets that."
But as I watched Bridget head toward the guest wing with a spring in her step, I knew the "Glow" was about to be tested like never before. The Watson house had just gained a permanent resident whose only goal was to dismantle the Watson-Jay Constant.