Jay-Jay's POV
The announcement came like a thunderclap. 📢
One minute I was standing in the condo, staring at all those ridiculous gala dresses, and the next, the whole world seemed to shift under my feet. 🌪️
Angelo called everyone into the living room that evening.
Kiefer was already there, looking annoyingly calm even though I could tell he wasn't 😒. Serina sat like a queen on the sofa, elegant as ever 👑, and the air between all of them felt too tight, too serious, like something huge was about to happen.
I looked around the room and crossed my arms. "Okay, seriously. Why does this feel like a courtroom?" 😑
No one laughed.
That alone made my stomach twist. 😰
Angelo stood near the fireplace, hands behind his back, and glanced at me for a second before looking toward the others. "Everyone's here."
"Wonderful," I muttered. "Love being emotionally summoned." 🙃
Kiefer shot me a quick look, but didn't smile. That made me even more nervous.
Serina folded her hands neatly on her lap. "This is important, Jay." ✨
I narrowed my eyes. "That's never a good sentence."
Angelo ignored me. He always did when he was in this mood. "The time has come to make the arrangement public." 📄
My brain stalled. "What arrangement?" 🤨
Kiefer's jaw tightened just a little.
That was when I knew.
Oh no.
No, no, no. 😳
Serina looked at me with that same composed expression she always wore, like she'd already rehearsed this moment in her head a hundred times. "The engagement." 💍
I stared at her.
Then at Angelo.
Then at Kiefer.
Then back at Serina.
And somehow the silence in the room got even louder. 😶
"The engagement," I repeated slowly, my voice going cold. "You mean the one you all dropped on me like a bomb and then expected me to just survive?" 💥
Angelo's face didn't change. "Yes."
I laughed, but it came out sharp. "You are unbelievable." 😤
Kiefer finally spoke, his voice low. "Jay—"
I turned on him instantly. "Don't 'Jay' me right now. I'm one second away from setting something on fire." 🔥
That made Serina's lips twitch, just barely.
Not helpful.
Angelo stepped forward and held up a folder in his hand. My stomach sank even lower when I saw the papers inside. 📂
"Oh, great," I muttered. "There's paperwork. Love that for me." 😩
He ignored the sarcasm. "Tomorrow morning, the statement goes out to the press."
My mouth opened. "To the what?" 😱
Serina answered this time, calm and smooth as ever. "To the world." 🌍
I blinked. "The world?"
"Yes," Angelo said. "The Watson heir and the Mariano heir are officially engaged." 💍✨
I just stared at him.
The Watson heir.
The Mariano heir.
It sounded like something out of one of those old-money dramas that people watch while eating expensive cake and pretending not to gossip 🎭🎂.
Except this was my life.
My actual, real, ridiculous life. 😵💫
"No," I said immediately.
Nobody moved.
"No," I repeated, louder this time. "You do not get to announce my engagement to the whole world like I'm some business deal with a pretty ring." 💔
Kiefer flinched almost imperceptibly at that.
I noticed.
Of course I noticed.
And for some reason that made me angrier, because part of me knew he didn't like this either, even if he'd gone along with it.
Angelo's voice stayed level. "It's done."
I turned on him so fast I nearly gave myself whiplash. "Done? You say 'done' like this is a meeting about supplies, not my entire future." 😡
"It's necessary."
"For who?"
"Everyone involved."
"I swear to God, Angelo—"
"Jay." His tone sharpened just enough to stop me. ⚡
I hated that I still listened when he used that voice.
I looked at Serina instead, because somehow she was the only one in the room not acting like this was the most normal thing in the universe.
Her expression remained polite, but there was a hard edge underneath it. "The public announcement is required. It protects the story." 📰
"The story?" I repeated, incredulous. "What story? That I got handed off like a prize?" 🏆
Kiefer's head snapped toward me. "Jay."
I ignored him. "No, seriously. Someone explain to me how this is supposed to sound romantic when I found out about it from a family meeting and not from my own life choices." 😤
Silence.
Angelo looked at the folder again. "The announcement will mention the engagement, the family alliance, and the upcoming gala."
I laughed bitterly. "Of course there's a gala." 🎀
"There's always a gala," Serina said, as though that solved everything.
I wanted to scream.
Instead, I pressed my lips together so hard they almost hurt.
Kiefer looked at me for a long second. Not smug. Not teasing. Just serious. "Jay, the announcement is going out whether you like it or not."
That should've made me explode.
Instead, it made something inside me go very quiet. 🫠
Because he wasn't saying it to be cruel.
He was saying it like he was warning me.
Like he knew how little control I had over this.
I folded my arms tighter. "So that's it? Everyone just decides I'm engaged, tells the press, and expects me to smile through it?" 🙄
Angelo answered, "You'll adapt."
I laughed again, but this time I sounded tired. "You really don't know me at all." 😔
That hit the room harder than I expected.
Even Angelo's face changed a little.
Serina stood, adjusting her sleeve with that elegant, unbothered energy she always had, though I could tell she was watching me closely. "Jay, this is about protection. Publicly tying the families together keeps the wrong people away." 🛡️
I went still.
The wrong people.
That again.
Always that. 😟
I looked at Kiefer. "So this whole thing is really about danger?"
He held my gaze. "Yes." ⚠️
I swallowed.
There it was.
The part nobody wanted to say too loudly.
The real reason.
Not love.
Not romance.
Not family pride or fancy dinners or expensive dresses.
Protection.
Safety.
Threats I still didn't fully understand. 😶
I hated how serious his face was. I hated even more that I believed him.
"Fine," I said quietly. "You announce it." 😐
Angelo exhaled, like he'd been waiting for that.
"But," I said, lifting a finger, "I am not smiling like some happy little princess in your little press photos." 👑
Serina's mouth twitched again. "You may smile however you like."
"Good."
"And you will attend," Angelo added.
I glared at him. "Obviously."
"And you will stand beside Kiefer."
I turned slowly to look at him. "That part is optional in my heart." 💀
Kiefer actually gave a short, breathy laugh, the first real sign of amusement I'd seen all evening.
Annoying.
Traitorous, even.
Angelo shut the folder and looked between us like he was trying to make sure the room stayed under control. "The public needs to see unity." 🤝
"The public can mind its business," I muttered.
"Unfortunately," Serina said, "they never do."
That was painfully true.
So there I was, standing in a condo that looked like a rich person's dream, wearing a face full of frustration, about to become headline news without ever agreeing to any of it. 😵💫
The Watson heir.
The Mariano heir.
Engaged. 💍
Publicly.
Officially.
In front of the world. 🌍
It felt too big.
Too fast.
Too much. 😩
And the worst part was that everyone in the room looked like they already knew I'd say yes in the end.
Which, unfortunately, they were probably right about.
I looked at Kiefer one more time.
He looked back at me like he wanted to say something.
Something real.
Something private.
Something just for me. 🥺
But Angelo cleared his throat before either of us could speak.
"There's a press statement ready," he said. "And the engagement photos will be released with it." 📸
My eyes widened. "Photos?" 😱
Serina nodded once. "Formal ones. You'll both be dressed accordingly."
I let out a slow, horrified breath. "You people are insane." 🤯
No one disagreed.
That somehow made it worse.
By the time the meeting ended, I felt like I'd aged ten years. 🫠
My name was going to be attached to his.
Our families were going to make it public.
And tomorrow morning the whole world would wake up to find out that Jay-Jay Mariano and Kiefer Watson were officially engaged. 📢💍
I walked back to my room with my heart pounding and my thoughts everywhere at once.
This wasn't a dream.
This wasn't a joke.
This was my life now. 😭
And whether I liked it or not, the announcement was coming.
Fast. ⚡