Keifer's POV
I had to leave Uncle Kier's house at dawn because of the long and distant journey. Keigan and I had an early meeting, so I needed to prepare quickly.
"Next time, bring your brothers here." Uncle Kier said.
"I will. Thank you for letting me stay, Uncle." I said and got inside the car.
The whole night wasn't enough for our conversation. So many things happened to the seven of them, but what amazed me the most was my grandfather's story.
He never married again after the love of his life left him, but he almost went insane destroying the lives of the people who separated them.
One true Watson beast.
He also shared things that could help me control the attitude of a Watson. I just hope I can apply them at the right time.
I fell asleep during the trip and only woke up when the car stopped at the hotel. I immediately went inside and headed to our suite.
Keigan was eating breakfast when I came in.
"How's your night with Uncle?" he asked before shoving food into his mouth.
"Not so bad. He gave me advice that could help me in the future."
He nodded briefly. "You should eat. We still have somewhere to go."
"Where?"
"Not too far from here."
He said he was going to introduce me to someone. A woman I had met before.
I turned my back on him and went straight to my room. I entered the bathroom to take a shower.
Under the pouring water, I closed my eyes and looked up.
I want to hear Jay-jay's voice. I miss her so much it makes me lose my mind. I want to go back just to hold her. I desperately want to embrace her. After what I heard from Uncle Kier, I'm starting to have hope for us.
But I need to endure this—for her, for myself, and for us. They need me, the people who rely on me.
I turned off the shower and dried myself with a towel. I went straight to the walk-in closet.
While I was getting dressed, I heard my secret phone ringing. I hurried, worried that Keigan might hear it.
I was about to look for my phone, but someone was already holding it. The screen was facing me, intentionally showing me the caller's name.
Yuri's number.
I looked at the person holding my phone. I was a bit surprised to see him here. He was holding his own phone to his ear.
"Do you want me to answer your call on my phone?" I sarcastically asked.
He smirked before putting down my phone and ending the call on his.
"There's something I want to know." He said and shoved his phone into his pocket.
I took my secret phone and put it in my pocket.
"What brings you here to London?"
Yuri crossed his arms. "You."
I chuckled. "Miss me?"
"In your dreams." He sighed. "Is that you?"
I turned my back on him and walked back to my closet. I continued getting dressed.
"You did that to Mykel, didn't you?" he asked, almost shouting.
"Lower your voice. Keigan might hear you."
"Just answer me." he said, sounding pissed. He obviously didn't visit just to say hello.
"Yes, I did that to Mykel."
"Angelo is mad because you beat him to it."
I stepped out of the closet while putting on my tie. He was still standing in the same position.
"He was too slow." I looked at him after finishing dressing. "Is that all?"
"What's with you and your textmate game?"
He raised a brow. "Crazy fool."
Damn that name. Jay is really good at naming people.
I looked at him seriously. No more games and no more jokes.
"I don't want to lose my connection with Jay."
"So you pretend to be someone? How childish."
Our gazes didn't break. Measuring who was stronger, who would last longer.
"I'm doing everything I have to do here. All I ask is to talk to Jay-jay, and now you want to cut it off."
"Because you have to. Forget her. Jay-jay will suffer more because of you."
I chuckled bitterly. "Look who's talking. Who was the one who set up the engagement and messed everything up? You made a plan without telling me."
"I was just saving her from you."
"Saving her or making sure? Afraid to lose again?"
He smirked. "I never lose, Keifer. They loved me when they were with you."
My fist clenched. I badly want to punch his face to shut him up. But I know better.
"But Jay-jay loved me when you were suffocating her with that engagement." I said, and his smirk immediately disappeared.
"Do you think I'm doing this just to win against you?"
I shook my head. "No. Because whatever you do, you'll never win against me."
I walked past him, slightly bumping his shoulder. It was probably Keigan or Honey who let him in. They likely even told him where my room was.
I was about to reach the door when Yuri called my name.
"It's better if you just stay here. There's nothing left for you to return to." He walked closer to me. "I'll make sure you have no Jay-jay to return to."
I smirked at him. "Like you really can."
I turned my back on him and left the room. I was about to look for Keigan, but I saw him walking toward me.
"Did you let Yuri in?" I asked with authority.
He blinked twice before slowly nodding. "H-he's visiting you for some important matters. That's what he said."
"Whatever. Let's go."
I saw Honey standing by the door. She was wearing her usual outfit, which made me raise a brow.
"I'm not coming." She said after noticing my questioning look. "I'll accompany your friend here."
"You can't fool him. He's not like Percy." I said and walked past her.
Keigan followed behind me silently, not even looking at me. From time to time, he lowered his head and rubbed the back of his neck.
We got into the car, but he was still the same. He mentioned that the place wasn't far, but then he went quiet again.
I'm starting to feel bothered. The longer the trip takes, the weirder he gets.
"Keigan, are—?"
"I'm okay." He cut me off.
He removed his glasses and held the bridge of his nose. He even sighed multiple times.
I stared at him and was about to touch his shoulder when I saw him slightly smirk. It immediately disappeared, and he rested the back of his head. He put his glasses back on and glanced at me for a moment.
I noticed the difference in his eyes from earlier. But I couldn't confirm it since I only saw it for a moment.
"Just a headache, but I'm alright now." He said before looking out the window.
I didn't take my eyes off him.
Dissociative Identity Disorder.
I'm not going to close my eyes to this matter anymore. I know my brother needs help. He's not normal, and that's the painful truth.
"We're here, sir." The driver announced.
I stared at the house—or rather, the mansion—on top of the hill. The road spiraled around the hill, leading up to the top.
"Whose mansion is this?" I asked.
"You'll know." Keigan answered.
The massive gate opened, revealing a wide expanse of grass. The house itself was still quite a distance from the entrance. The first thing I noticed was the large fountain in front of the house. We stopped at the entrance door.
Keigan stepped out first, followed by me. A woman in a maid's uniform greeted us.
"Good morning, sir. This way, please." She said, motioning for us to follow her.
I raised an eyebrow. Why do I feel weird? Like something big is about to happen.
I reached for the collar of my shirt. I'm having trouble breathing.
Keigan walked ahead while I followed, staring straight at the path we were taking. I don't even have time to look around.
We arrived on the second floor, where the maid led us to a terrace.
"She'll be here in a moment." The maid said before leaving.
The first thing I noticed was a coffee table surrounded by benches. The railings were covered with crawling plants.
"Who exactly are we meeting here?"
"Someone from—"
"Keifer!"
A woman's voice interrupted Keigan.
Both of us turned at the same time. She was walking toward us with a wide smile. My forehead slowly creased, and my mouth slightly parted as I realized who she was.
"Oh my god, Keifer!" She said and hugged me.
I didn't respond, nor did I hug her back. I was in shock.
After all these years, this is the first time I've seen her up close again.
She pulled away and smiled at me.
"Look at you! You're taller than me now!" She examined every inch of my face.
"Good morning, Ate. Sorry we're late." Keigan said, and she turned to him.
"It's okay. At least you made it." She said with a bright smile before facing me again. "Why aren't you saying anything? You're not happy to see me?"
I was trying to find the right words to say to her.
But I was lost.
"Did a cat bite your tongue?" She asked playfully.
"Y-you—how?" I gulped. "I-Ion."
Her smile faded slightly but remained.
"I think it's better if you call me Ate. You still have no respect."
I'm confused as fvck.
I have so many things to ask, but I don't know where to start.
If Angelo finds out that I'm face-to-face with her right now, he'll definitely lose his mind.
She said a few things I couldn't understand before suddenly pulling me to sit at the coffee table. She was still smiling and giggling while talking to Keigan.
The same maid from earlier brought sweets and tea for us.
"Come on, Keifer. Say something. You're just frozen there." She mocked me.
I finally managed to compose a question.
"H-how the fvck did you know each other?"
Ion giggled before setting down her teacup.
"I thought he was you, then I remembered—you have a younger brother."
"She looked familiar to me, so I entertained her. Then I found out that you knew each other." Keigan explained.
I don't remember introducing any woman to Keigan aside from Jay-jay. So how on earth did he get familiar with Ion?
Whatever it is, it doesn't feel right.
My instinct is telling me something.
"So how's life been? I heard you and your friends had an accident about three or four years ago." She asked.
I nodded briefly. "And because of that, we're no longer friends. Only Yuri and I are left."
I saw sadness in her eyes. "You mean, Aries and Percy are no longer your friends?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "Kindly explain where you've been these past few years. Is this your house, by the way?"
She looked behind us to check the house. "No, this belongs to my friend. He just lets me stay."
"He?" I raised a brow. "If Angelo finds out—"
"Please. Let's not talk about him." She cut me off.
She couldn't look me in the eye. It was obvious she wasn't comfortable hearing his name either.
I wanted to laugh at how she was acting. She's the one who left, yet she has the audacity to avoid the topic about Angelo.
"So what do you want to talk about?" My voice started to rise.
Keigan noticed and cleared his throat to warn me. But fvck this, I hate the way she acts like nothing happened. Like she never left and left everything hanging.
"Maybe we should talk about how great your life is now that you made it without him." I said sarcastically.
It was obvious she wasn't expecting me to say that.
She even looked at Keigan, silently asking for help.
"Kuya—"
"No. I would like to hear what she's about to say."
I saw her shoulders slowly rise and fall. She remained looking at Keigan as if she was waiting for a signal.
"Keifer, please—"
"What?" I sounded pissed.
I don't like being here.
I have no clue why we're even here, and that just makes me even more irritated.
Ion stood up and calmly faced us.
"I'm sorry, Keigan, but I don't think this is the right time to talk about the marriage—"
"What marriage?!" I almost shouted.
They both looked shocked. I saw the panic in Keigan's eyes. He didn't even know whom to talk to first.
"Ate, I-I—Kuya, this—"
"WHAT MARRIAGE?!"
I badly want to punch something.
My fists clenched so hard I could hear my own bones.
"He still doesn't know?" It was Ion. "I-I thought—I'm sorry, Keigan."
"Answer my question." I commanded, forcing myself to stay calm.
They exchanged glances, as if waiting to see who would tell me the truth.
Ion sat down again and faced me.
"Keifer, the thing is… Keigan and I talked about this yesterday." She bit her lip and looked at Keigan before continuing. "We talked about you… and… I—"
My hands moved on their own as I slammed the coffee table. The plates and teacups shattered. Ion quickly stood up and backed away, covering her mouth. Meanwhile, Keigan stood up and stepped back.
My breathing was heavy. I'm enraged and close enough to hurting my own brother.
"How dare you." It came out like a whisper.
"Oh my god." Ion said, looking terrified of me.
"Listen, we have to do this. I'm just getting ahead of the Elders' plan. This is what they were planning for you too."
"How dare you." I glared at him deadly. "How dare you!"
"Kuya."
I couldn't believe he would do this to me. I trusted him because he's smart, and I thought he would never betray me.
"Stay away from me. I might hurt you, Keigan."
Ion walked closer to me. She tried to touch me, but I moved away.
"Listen, Keifer. We both think this is the right thing to do."
I chuckled bitterly. "For what? This is fvcked up!"
I turned around to leave, but two people standing in front of me stopped me in my tracks.
Of all times, they had to show up now.
"An engagement? Uncle doesn't know anything about this." Honey said, looking at Ion. "I think you're too old to hit Keifer."
"I'm not hitting him." Ion said casually.
But I wasn't interested in either of them. My eyes remained locked on the person beside Honey as a smirk slowly formed on his lips.
Fvck.
"You're doomed, Keifer. Of all women, Ion?" Yuri said, smirking.
"Don't you dare."
"I'm shutting my mouth. Because you're the one who's going to tell them. Especially Angelo and Jay-jay."
My fists clenched, and I was about to punch him, but Honey immediately blocked it.
"Not now! We've been calling Keigan for a while, but he hasn't been answering. Maybe you should buy a new phone."
"What is it?" Keigan asked.
"Your Uncle Kier was rushed to the hospital."
Everything went black the moment I heard those words from Honey.
I walked straight out, hearing them call my name, but my body had a mind of its own.
I reached the outside and immediately signaled the driver.
"S-sir?"
"Hand me the car key."
He hesitated at first but eventually gave it to me. I grabbed it and got into the car.
I saw Keigan, Honey, Ion, and Yuri running out of the house, but I had already driven away before they could reach me.
Please, no. Not another one from my family.