[Jay's POV]
The next morning, the "System Error" in my legs had finally been resolved. I woke up feeling 100% optimized—my voice was back to its usual clear tone, and my muscles had stopped protesting every movement. I felt light, energized, and ready to reclaim my throne as the Empress of the Watson Estate.
When I walked into the breakfast room, I didn't need to be carried. I walked with a steady, confident grace, wearing a deep emerald silk blouse that made the "Glow" on my skin look almost otherworldly.
Keifer was already at the head of the table, looking like a king in a tailored navy suit. But he wasn't looking at the morning papers. He was looking at a small, velvet box sitting next to my plate.
"Morning, Empress," he said, his voice dropping into that low, intimate register that still made my heart skip a beat. "Legs functioning at full capacity today?"
"Fully operational," I teased, sliding into my seat. "The gravity seems much more stable this morning."
Mamma Serina and Pappa Keizer were already smiling, looking between me and the velvet box. Even Keigan and Keiran had stopped arguing over the last pancake to watch.
The Grand Reveal
"What's in the box, Kuya?" Keiran asked, leaning in so close his nose was almost touching the velvet. "Is it another gravity sensor?"
"Close," Keifer smirked, nodding toward me. "Open it, Jay."
I reached out, my fingers trembling slightly. I clicked the latch, and the lid popped open. Resting on a bed of white satin was a bespoke, platinum-and-diamond brooch in the shape of a stylized mathematical infinity symbol, with a tiny, perfect gear integrated into the center. It was the "Watson-Jay Constant" rendered in high-end jewelry.
"It's custom-made," Keifer explained, his eyes fixed on mine. "The diamond in the center is a 5-carat 'D' flawless. I had the designers integrate the gear to represent your engineering mind. It's a permanent piece of the system."
I was speechless. The sheer brilliance of the stones was blinding, but the sentiment behind it—the merging of his world (luxury) and mine (logic)—was what made my eyes sting with happy tears.
The Bridget Glitch
Just as I was pinning the stunning piece to my emerald blouse, the heavy doors of the dining room swung open. Bridget walked in, looking like she'd spent the night fighting with her pillow. Her hair was frizzy, her eyes were red-rimmed, and she looked 100% miserable.
She stopped dead in her tracks the moment she saw the flash of light from my chest.
"What... what is that?" Bridget stammered, her eyes widening as they locked onto the diamonds. She recognized the quality instantly; her family dealt in luxury, but this was on another level. This was a "Watson Heritage" grade piece.
"A morning gift," Keifer said casually, sipping his espresso. "For services rendered to the Watson-Jay Constant.
Bridget's face went from pale to a sickly, mottled purple. "A five-carat brooch? For a tuesday? Keifer, that costs more than my tuition for the next two years! You can't just give things like that to... to her!"
"Actually, I can," Keifer replied, his voice turning ice-cold. "I can give her the entire estate if I feel like it. But I thought she'd prefer something that matches her brain."
"It's beautiful, isn't it, Bridget?" Mamma Serina added, her voice dripping with artificial sweetness. "It represents the fact that Jay is a permanent fixture here. Unlike some people, who are just... passing through for their education."
Bridget looked like she was about to have a physical malfunction. She looked at me—looking radiant, wearing a fortune on my chest, and loved by the most powerful family she knew—and then she looked at her cold bowl of oatmeal.
"You're spoiling her to make me look small!" Bridget screamed, her jealousy finally reaching a point of total irrationality. "You're doing this just to rub it in my face that I'm staying in the guest wing!"
"Bridget," I said, my voice calm and steady, the "Empress" fully back in control. "The world doesn't revolve around your ego. Keifer didn't give me this to make you look small. You do that all by yourself every time you open your mouth. He gave me this because I'm his. And he's mine. 100%."
Bridget let out a choked sob of pure, unadulterated envy. She didn't even sit down. She turned around and ran out of the room, her heels clattering frantically as she headed back to the West Wing.
Keifer reached over, taking my hand and kissing the palm. "Analysis, Jay?"
"System check: The 'Glow' is now diamond-reinforced," I whispered, smiling at him. "And the interference has been successfully diverted."