Jay-jay's POV
I couldn't stop coughing and gasping for air as I lay face down on the shore. The waves reached half my body.
"Fvck! Don't do that again!" Kei —kwanan — scolded me, while also catching his breath.
I was such an idiot for wading into the sea, thinking I could swim home. Turns out, I'm not even that good at swimming.
So I almost drowned!
Good thing this annoying guy followed me. He rescued me before anything worse could happen.
I didn't argue further. I'd only waste what little energy I had left if I start cursing him out. I just lay back down, eyes closed.
"You okay?" the fool asked.
"I… I want to go home," I said, almost whispering.
"We'll go home. I'll find a way," he said. "Let's go back to the villa."
When I opened my stinging eyes, he was already standing, his hand extended toward me. Though exhausted, I reached for it. As I stood, he pulled me up
Even after I was on my feet, he didn't let go of my hand. He held it the whole way back — and I didn't mind, afraid that my body might give out from exhaustion at any moment.
When we reached the villa's terrace, I slumped down on the edge, still breathing heavily.
"C'mon, we're almost there. You can take a bath and rest after," he said, trying to pull me up.
"W-wait. Just a short break."
He let go of my hand. He walked in front of me. I was shocked when he suddenly grabbed both of my hands and pulled me up to stand. But it didn't end there—he kept pulling me until he hoisted me over his shoulder.
I was like a sack of rice. He walked straight into the house.
Honestly, I was jealous of him. He still had energy after saving me from drowning while I was completely spent, thirsty, and starving from trying to swim across the ocean.
Kind of dumb!
He walked straight into the room and continued into the bathroom. He set me down under the shower.
"Take a bath then rest," he ordered.
I just nodded before he turned around and left. Good thing he locked the door. I took a shower just as he told me to, though it took me forever because of how heavy my arms felt.
After bathing and getting dressed, drying my hair with a towel felt like a whole new challenge. I sat on the bed, staring at the window, thinking about the fact that I'd be stuck here for a while with that idiot.
I'm so doomed.
I turned toward the door when it opened. Kei-kwanan came in, holding a tray with food and juice.
"I know you're hungry. Again." he said before placing the tray at the foot of the bed.
Well, well. The idiot actually knows how to be considerate.
"T-thanks."
He must've noticed the lack of energy in my voice. He pulled the chair from the table—where I'd gotten my things—and placed it in front of me before sitting down.
"Hey, I know you're upset," he said, reaching out to hold my hand, but I quickly pulled it away.
The idiot didn't give up, though, chasing after my hand just to hold it.
"I'll find a way. We'll get home safely before your cousin finds us."
I smacked him with the towel. "You idiot! What's wrong with you? Why did you bring me here?"
He sighed deeply and raised two fingers. "I have two reasons." He raised his index finger and tucked away the middle one. "One, for us—so we can have a private place and enough time to talk." Then he raised the middle finger. "Two—when I asked Angelo for permission about this reviewing thing, he told me to hide you for a while. But he doesn't know that 'a while' would last 24 hours."
I quickly pulled my hand away that he was holding. Why would I need to be hidden? And why would Kuya order something like that? What's going on now? And why did he even agree to let me go with this lunatic?
Kuya knew we were together. And he also gave the order to hide me. And this snake took advantage of it.
"W-why? What for?"
He shook his head. "He didn't tell me. But I'm trying to find out now."
I stared into his eyes. "How can I be sure you're telling the truth?"
He opened his mouth to answer but quickly shut it, as if deciding it was better not to speak. He looked away and shook his head.
"It's hard, isn't it? Because you admit you're a liar," I said, accusingly.
He didn't even defend himself or say anything to make me trust him.
"Yes, I did lie—because I had no choice," he said, standing up. "Eat something. Then rest."
He left the room for good, leaving me with a huge puzzle over what he said. What does he mean he had no choice? Lady's Choice? What kind of nonsense is that?
I decided to just eat first. I might get even hungrier if I kept thinking and thinking. I walked over to the tray and got excited when I saw that the Ulupong had prepared pasta. Seafood flavor.
There's no such thing as exhaustion when you're starving. I finished what he brought in no time. I placed the tray on the table and peeked out the window. The sun was already blazing— it was no longer a good time to go for a walk.
Honestly, the place was absolutely beautiful. Kei-kwanan's face was just a huge vibe-killer. The sea was a deep, striking blue. The sand played between shades of white and pink. There were a lot of Pucca shells scattered along the shore. Even that wind chime that woke me up yesterday was made of shells. There were plenty of coconut trees I couldn't climb. I also saw other trees, but they weren't familiar to me.
After I'd had my fill of the stunning view outside, I decided to lie down and continue with my plan to rest. And because I was so tired, I dozed off on my own.
I was probably asleep the entire morning until I was woken by the growling of my stomach. It was already lunchtime.
I tried to move and immediately felt something heavy wrapped around me. I tried to open my eyes, but I couldn't see clearly because of the sleepiness clouding my vision.
"Kwanan…" I called weakly to the King of Ulupong. "Hungry… lunch…" I added in a hoarse voice.
I fell asleep again, but my stomach growled once more, clearly trying to wake me up. But my sleepiness wasn't backing down. I wasn't even sure anymore if I was dreaming or already awake.
"Kwanan…" I called again.
Something was still wrapped around me, making it hard to move. I tried to push the shameless thing away.
I heard his faint groan. "Hmm…"
"Kwanan…"
"Hmm?" my companion responded.
"Cook… food…"
"Yes, wife," he murmured hoarsely. "I will cook."
Wife?
I smiled to myself. In my dream, Kei-kwanan and I were already married. There's probably nothing wrong with enjoying the moment. At least in this dream, I could say that he loves me. Nothing's impossible in a dream. I once dreamed I married a slab of pork belly, but it died early because I ate it all.
"Food…" I groaned softly.
I felt the embrace of the person beside me tighten.
"What does my wife want?" he asked hoarsely.
"Salmon stick, Hubby."
"Steak."
"Anything edible."
"Of course." I felt something soft touch my forehead. "For my wife and my baby."
Oh! A baby, too. This is next-level!
"Baby wants ice cream."
"Is it the baby or the mommy?"
"Both."
I heard his soft laughter. I was thoroughly enjoying this dream. At least there was nothing here to remind me that he might be lying to me again—that he might be plotting something and using me for his schemes. In this dream, there was none that existed.
"Kwanan…" I called again, but there was no answer. "Kwanan…" Still nothing.
Sadness began to creep in. It felt like my dream was coming to an end. I didn't want to return to reality yet. Just a little longer here.
I tried to move, but the person beside me also stirred.
"Wife…" he murmured softly.
"Mmm?"
"Who's Kwanan?"
"You."
Silence enveloped us for a moment. My dream was beginning to fade.
No, not yet!
I instinctively stretched out my arms to embrace the person beside me, hoping it might keep my little piece of happiness from slipping away before I returned to the real nightmare.
"Shh..." I heard him say, and I felt that soft thing brushing against my forehead, sliding down to my nose again.
"I don't want to wake up," I said softly. "I want to stay here."
"Then stay here. Stay with me."
I smiled. Even in my dream, he wanted me to stay. If only I could, I'd do anything just so I wouldn't wake up.
"Okay," I replied.
I felt that soft thing again. From my nose, it moved to the corner of my lips.
"I love you," he whispered, and the soft thing pressed against my lips. "Until scientists find the end of the universe."
Ayiiihh! He said I love you!
I giggled slightly. "Food first."
I heard him laugh, but it was suddenly accompanied by a sharp pang and ache in my stomach. I groaned in pain and instantly opened my eyes.
Damn it!
What a damn dream! Even my dreams are now infiltrated by deceivers. Or to put it more accurately—I wasn't dreaming at all.
Shit! Damn it! Fvck—!
Now I knew what that soft thing was. Looked like it was his lips—and he kissed me. Then I even called him hubby and dreamed that we had a baby. God, I'm so dumb!
I'm going back to the sea. I'll drown myself, no chance of coming up for air. If there's a shark, I'll let it eat me. It better swallow me whole, or I swear I'll eat it instead.
The annoying, pesky, demonic jerk in front of me still had his eyes closed. We were so close that we were practically sharing breaths. I didn't really have a problem with his breath — it actually smelled kind of nice. But mine?
Boombastic!
He looked so peaceful. You'd never think this jerk was such a menace. My gaze landed on his sharp nose— it made mine feel embarrassed.
A mischievous grin slowly crept onto my face as an idea popped into my head. I raised one hand—carefully, slowly—toward the space between us. I reached for his nose and gave it a sharp flick before pretending to still be asleep.
"Aw." I heard him complain.
I held back my laughter, afraid he might catch me.
"Wife," he said. "I know it's you."
I didn't answer. I wasn't his wife. If only I had known earlier that it wasn't a dream, I never would've called him Hubby. Damn it!
"Still asleep, huh?" There was clear sarcasm in his voice. "You'll never know what I'm about to do to you."
What? What was he planning to do?
"Keep sleeping," he said, and I felt his warm breath on my lips.
I knew what this shameless guy was planning. He was doing it on purpose so I'd open my eyes and he could catch me as the one who flicked his nose. But if I didn't open my eyes, he'd get away with stealing another kiss.
"Keep—"
"You jerk—!" I shouted when his lips were barely a hair's breadth away from mine.
He pulled back slightly, laughing.
"Let go of me! Get away from me!" I ordered him, but he didn't budge.
"What's wrong, Wifey?" he asked, chukling.
The jerk was clearly provoking me. I was sure he was fully awake when we were talking earlier — he just took advantage of the confusion.
"You're such a idiot!"
"I'm not an idiot — I'm Hubby. You called me Hubby," he teased further.
"Hubby? I'll hubby-slam you right here! Get lost!"
He shook his head. "Call me Hubby."
Oh, for the love of—the jerk was even acting all cute now.
"I'll punch you!" I threatened, but he quickly pinned my arm, which I hadn't realized was still wrapped around him.
"Just one 'Hubby.' Please," he said, his tone mockingly pleading.
"Stop it, Let me go!"
"I won't cook lunch for you if you don't say it," he threatened.
"You've got some nerve! It's your obligation to cook for me!"
"Are we talking about obligations now?" His grin widened. "As my wife, it's your obligation to give me a child."
"What the hell!"
"Say it!"
"What?!"
"Say it!"
"You're so annoying!"
"Just say it!"
It was obvious now—this idiot had no plans of backing down. Saying those words earlier was a huge mistake. Now he won't let it go. I was going to starve to death if he didn't start cooking soon.
Damn it.
"If you still don't cook—I'm telling you, you're gonna get it from me," I threatened.
But his grin just got bigger. "Say it."
I grimaced. I really wanted to eat, and my stomach was already burning from hunger.
Damn you, Kwanan.
"H-Hubby."
He bit his lip excitedly before burying his face in my neck. When I tried to sneak a glance at him, I immediately noticed his bright red ears.
"H-hey!"
He stayed tucked into my neck for a few more minutes before abruptly standing up without a word. His ears were still red. But it was only then that I noticed—even his neck was flushed.
What just happened?
I just chose to get up and head to the bathroom to wash my face. I also tied back my hair, which was probably stiffer than a tree trunk.
I went downstairs and headed straight to the kitchen. I was still pouting as I watched the busy King of Ulupong.
He better not dare tease me about that damn 'Hubby' thing. I swear I'd smack him back and forth.
After cooking, Kei-Kwanan placed a plate in front of me. He also prepared juice in a pitcher.
"Eat, Wify," he said with a grin.
"I'll bite your head off," I threatened before starting to eat.
I could hear him chuckling before he started eating. While I was busy with my food, the shameless guy kept stealing glances at me. Then he'd flash a smile before taking a bite.
Choke on it, please.
"Hey!" I snapped at him, annoyed. "Stop that!"
"What?"
"Just eat."
"Yes, Wify."
Oh damn! He really wouldn't stop.
I just kept quiet, worried I might say something worse. I was still eating, after all. I didn't want to lose my appetite.
"After this, help me—"
"What now?"
"With the reviewers. Remember?"
I paused, trying to recall. Oh, right — that was why I was stuck with this idiot in the first place. That damn reviewing. How was I even supposed to help him when I didn't understand half the lessons myself?
I'd just teach him what I knew. Maybe I'd start with David's lettering and how to read his alphabet. Good-looking guy, terrible handwriting.
After eating, I waited for the fool to finish washing the dishes. Thankfully, he didn't take long.
He invited me to the living room and told me to wait. He left and returned with our materials. Even photocopies of the lessons—he brought everything.
"Let's start," he said, handing me the papers and sitting right next to me.
"Move over," I ordered.
"Why?"
"What do you mean, why? You're too close."
"No, I'm not. This is just the right distance, so I can understand what you'll teach me," he replied, even throwing in a wink.
I wanted to stab him in the eye with a pen. Good thing I had a whole box of them. I'd shove every single one into him.
Just try me.
"Let's just start already," I said irritably, rolling my eyes.
I read through the first sheet I picked — and immediately felt like crying. Of all subjects, why did it have to be the one full of problems? The one always searching for X so it could ask Y?
"Let's do this one first" I said, grabbing a clean sheet of paper and a pen. "Let's go with Victor first."
He gave me a puzzled look while twirling a pen in his fingers.
"Who's Victor?"
"What do you mean, who? That's Victor!" I said, pointing at the drawings on the paper.
He chuckled a bit. "You mean vector."
You're such an idiot, Jay
I looked at the paper carefully. It really did say vector — not Victor.
I cleared my throat slightly to try and shake off the embarrassment. I grabbed another sheet of paper to study instead. After all, our math teacher didn't even focus on that topic this week. That's from way back—I don't even know why it was included in the photocopies.
"Let's try something else," I said, setting aside the previous sheet. "Here we go, hippopotamus."
He frowned. "What?"
I pointed at the page. "That one."
"Do you have an eye problem?" he asked, and I shook my head.
"It's hypothalamus."
Damn it, Jay — get your act together.
"It's been replaced," I said nonchalantly. "You took so long to come back. It was changed about three weeks ago," I explained further.
I wanted to bang my head on the table. I was so embarrassed in front of him. It was obvious I wasn't listening or studying properly. Of all times, I had to look stupid right now. Couldn't it have waited?
He nodded, chuckling, clearly not buying it.
I grabbed another sheet of paper and placed it in front of him. "Here, we are doing — tangerine."
He suddenly burst out laughing. He almost rolled on the floor from how much he was enjoying himself. I think I knew why.
I'm hopeless.
"It's tangent."
"They changed that too," I said, which made him laugh even harder. "It's true. They changed that one too."
He shook his head while biting his lip. I didn't know what to do anymore. It was obvious we weren't learning anything. Especially me—no matter how much I listened, I just couldn't understand.
Honestly, it was his fault. How could I focus on lessons when he was always on my mind? If I fail, I'll blame him when I report to Kuya Angelo.
Kuya, he won't leave my head.
"Let's just study something else," I said and searched for something not related to math.
The first thing I picked up was English, but it looked like he didn't need help with that. My brain juice was already squeezed dry from all the English he kept throwing at me. Pretty soon, sparks would fly from my head because I was running low on mental oil.
I searched again until I pulled out a science paper. I handed it to him.
"This one," I said.
"What's this?" he asked while reading the paper.
"Reproductive system."
"It's like this..." I said and pointed to the images. "When this egg and these little tadpoles meet, it will come down here and then divide. Then it will be like this." I pointed to the next image. "Then it will gradually develop. First like this and then like this and then like this." I pointed to the images of the fetus one after another. " And then that's it—Baby. Just wait for it to come out."
"I'm confused. How did this thing meet that thing." He pointed to the egg and the tadpoles.
" When—" I stopped mid-sentence and gave him a death glare.
"I swear I'm going to bite your face off."
Good thing I quickly realized what the jerk was getting at. He probably thought I wouldn't notice. And he had the nerve to grin so widely.
What an idiot.
"Seriously? If Angelo sees and hears this, you're more than doomed."
I pouted. I know! I know all too well. Every word that comes out of my mouth would probably earn me a smack.
Share some of your brain, please.