The atmosphere in the Watson kitchen was a rare blend of domestic warmth and quiet luxury. Despite the army of professional staff available at the press of a button, Mamma Serina often found solace in the art of cooking, and today, Jay was by her side.
Jay stood at the sink, her hands submerged in warm, soapy bubbles as she rinsed the fine porcelain from their mid-day snack. She was still glowing, a soft radiance that seemed to hum beneath her skin, but her movements were slightly slower, her body still humming with the
pleasant exhaustion of the previous days.
Serina watched her with a maternal tenderness that was almost fierce. Every few minutes, she would nudge Jay aside. "Don't scrub too hard, darling. You'll wear yourself out. Here, let me take the heavy platters."
She reached over, drying Jay's hands with a soft linen towel as if she were her own daughter. "You've done enough. You should be sitting down with a book, let the boys handle the chores for once."
"I like helping, Mamma," Jay whispered, a small, shy smile playing on her lips. "It makes everything feel... real."
The peaceful moment was interrupted by a familiar, heavy footstep. Keifer entered the kitchen, his tie loosened and his "CEO" intensity completely discarded the moment his eyes landed on Jay. Ignoring the fact that his mother was standing right there, he walked straight to Jay, sliding his arms around her waist and pulling her back into his chest.
He buried his face in the crook of her neck, inhaling the scent of her skin and the lemon-soap. "I missed you," he murmured, his voice a low vibration. "The house felt too big without you in my line of sight."
Jay turned scarlet, her hands still damp as she leaned back into him. "Keifer... Mamma is right there."
Serina didn't look scandalized; she looked triumphant. She saw the way her son's cold, analytical world now orbited entirely around the girl in his arms. With a knowing smirk and a playful pat on Keifer's shoulder, she began to untie her apron.
"I think my work here is done," Serina chuckled. "I'll leave you two to 'finish the dishes.' I'm going to find Keizer; he's been complaining about his tablet again."
As Serina stepped out into the hallway, she didn't realize she was walking straight into a pocket of pure, concentrated toxicity.
Bridget Chen was standing in the.shadows of the dining room archway, her fingers digging into the velvet wallpaper. From her vantage point, she could see everything: the way Keifer was currently spinning Jay around to kiss her, the way Jay was laughing into his chest, and most importantly, the way Mamma Serina had just given them her blessing to be alone.
For Bridget, the jealousy wasn't just hitting—it was shattering her.
In her mind, the kitchen was for servants, and Jay was nothing more than a glorified maid who had managed to trick the Prince. But seeing the matriarch of the Watson family treat Jay with more love than she treated her own relatives was a bitter pill that Bridget refused to swallow. Her eyes tracked Keifer's hand as it slid up Jay's back, and the lust in her heart curdled into a dark, jagged desire to see Jay fall.
Bridget watched as Serina sat down next to Keizer, the two of them sharing a peaceful, contented look. The entire family was a fortress, and Jay was inside the walls while Bridget was being treated like an unwanted guest.
Inside the kitchen, the romance was at a peak; outside, Bridget's jealousy had finally reached a tipping point. She wasn't just watching a couple anymore; she was watching the life she wanted, and she was ready to do anything to break the "Watson-Jay Constant."