JAY JAY POV
AFTER 4 DAYS
Four days later, the island felt like a beautiful, sun-drenched dream that I wasn't quite ready to wake up from. But the city was calling, the wedding was fast approaching, and Keifer was right—I needed to see my family.
The moment we stepped through the doors of the mansion, the quiet peace of the island was replaced by the chaotic energy I had actually started to miss.
"Mi!" I yelled, my voice echoing through the foyer.
"JAY BABY!" Mia's voice shrieked from the top of the stairs. She didn't even walk down; she practically flew. She scrambled down the steps and threw herself at me, nearly knocking me over.
We hugged each other so tight I could barely breathe. Mia smelled like home—perfume and trouble. She pulled back, her eyes scanning every inch of my face, looking for any sign of the "ghosts" I'd taken to the island. When she saw the spark back in my eyes and the healthy tan on my skin, she let out a relieved breath.
But, because she's Mia, the sentimentality lasted exactly three seconds.
She leaned in close, her eyes twinkling with pure mischief. "Tell me... did you have sex with him on the island? Was it like one of those romance novels? Did he lose his mind?"
I choked on my own breath, my face heating up instantly as I remembered the sand, the water, and Keifer's teeth against my jaw.
"Woah, chill. Not yet," Keifer's deep voice rumbled from behind me.
I turned to see him leaning against the doorframe, looking effortlessly cool in his leather jacket, though there was a protective glint in his eyes as he watched us.
"Not yet?" Mia repeated, stepping back and crossing her arms, looking Keifer up and down. "Watson, you had her on a private island for nearly a week and you didn't seal the deal? Are you broken?"
Keifer let out a dry, short laugh and walked over, sliding a possessive arm around my waist and pulling me into his side. "I'm not broken, Mia. I'm just disciplined. Barely."
He looked down at me, and for a second, I saw that flash of the 'island Keifer'—the one who wanted to devour me.
"Besides," he added, smirking at Mia. "The 'deal' is getting sealed in less than seventy-two hours. I think I can manage not to explode until then. Maybe."
"You guys are boring," Mia groaned, though she was beaming. She hugged me again, whispering in my ear. "I'm so glad you're back, Jay. The boys have been insufferable without you."
I pulled back slightly, looking at her in surprise. "Wait, what are you even doing here?"
"Well, Ben, Robin, and I—your stunningly beautiful bestie—stopped by to see you a few days ago," she explained airily. "That's when we got the 'shocking' news that you'd run off to a private island with your fiancé. We headed home for a bit, but Ci-N gave me the heads-up that you were returning today."
"Wait, Ci-N is here too?" I asked, my eyes widening.
"Yup," she chirped.
"Who else?" I asked, already mentally calculating my best escape route.
"Let's see... me, Ben, Robin, and of course, your entire beloved Section E. To quote them exactly: 'We need to see our Mutya!'" Mia giggled.
My stomach did a nervous flip. "What about Jare? Have you talked to him yet?"
Mia's expression shifted, becoming a bit more serious. "No," she admitted. "Not yet."
But before I could dwell on Jare's mood, a familiar voice cut through the air.
"JAY JAY!" Ci-N shouted, charging toward me.
He slammed into me with a hug so forceful I honestly thought I was going to crack a rib or fall flat on my face.
"C, get off! You're squeezing the life out of me!" I wheezed, batting at his arms.
"Finally! You actually decided to come back," Ci-N said, finally letting go but keeping his hands on my shoulders as if to make sure I wasn't a hologram. "We seriously thought we were going to have to send out a search team to find you."
I rolled my eyes, swatting his hands away. "You brat, you messaged me while I was on the island! You knew exactly where I went and exactly when I was coming back."
Keifer chuckled behind me, clearly amused by our bickering. Seeing that I was well-protected by my wall of friends, he leaned in, squeezed my hand, and then headed off toward the office to settle things with Jare and the other guys.
"Baby sis, did you miss my face?" Percy asked, stepping forward with his arms wide open, a giant, goofy grin on his face.
I looked at him and smiled, walking toward him as if I were going for a huge homecoming hug. Percy's grin widened, looking all sentimental—but just as his arms started to close around me, I ducked perfectly under his reach and bolted straight for the kitchen.
I had smelled the muffins the second I walked in, and priorities were priorities.
When I looked back over my shoulder, grabbing a blueberry muffin from the counter, Percy was standing there clutching himself, hugging thin air to cover up the embarrassment of being stood up by his little sister.
The entire room burst out laughing.
"ICE COLD, MUTYA!" Rory howled, doubling over.
"That's my girl!" Mia cheered, leaning against the counter next to me.
I took a triumphant bite of my muffin, grinning at Percy's pouting face. "Love you, Perce, but these looked better!"
"Unbelievable," Percy muttered, though he was hiding a smile. "I'm telling Jare you're being a bully."
"Jay, how was your days with Keifer?" Felix asked, his eyes teasing
I took a bite of my muffin, leaning against the counter as the whole Section E circus surrounded me. "It was… quiet. No shouting, no fighting, and definitely no one trying to hack into my phone every five minutes," I said, shooting a look at Edrix.
"Dammmn, Mutya! Sounds like you missed the chaos!" Edrix chirped
"She missed me the most, obviously," Blaster shouted, leaning against the kitchen door with his usual rebellious swagger
While I was eating, I saw Kit and Mayo in the corner, whispered to each other. Kit looked like he was explaining some complex theory about island tides, while Mayo just nodded, his calm, observant eyes scanning the room to make sure everything was safe.
Calix was busy showing Mica something on his phone, looking every bit the devoted boyfriend he'd become, while Rory and Josh were hovering near the entrance. Josh didn't say anything, but he gave me a small, mystery-filled nod that I knew meant he was glad I was back.
The kitchen went from chaotic to suspiciously quiet the moment Ci-N opened his mouth.
"Jay, was it big?" Ci-N asked suddenly, his voice way too casual to be innocent.
Everyone stopped what they were doing. Even Denzel stopped rummaging through the donut box. I paused with my muffin halfway to my mouth, blinking at him.
"What was big?" I asked, genuinely confused.
"The island," Ci-N said, though the sharp, sarcastic glint in his eyes told a completely different story.
"Oh. Yeah," I nodded, taking a bite. "It was huge. Lots of forest and beach."
"Are your legs hurting?" Ci-N asked again, leaning in closer with that signature 'wealthy troublemaker' smirk.
"Why would they be?" I asked, my brow furrowing.
"You know... from your activities," Ci-N prompted, his tone dripping with fake concern.
"Yeah, Jay," Felix chimed in, leaning against the counter next to Ci-N, his playful side fully taking over. "Your activities with Keifer. The... special edition island version."
I stopped chewing. I could feel the heat starting to crawl up my neck. "What activities?"
"Walking, swimming, running... and you know... etcetera," Ci-N said, the smirk widening into a full-blown grin. "Lots of physical... endurance... required for an island trip like that, right?"
"No! They don't! Nothing happened!" I said quickly, my voice jumping an octave.
"Dammmn!" Edrix shouted from the back, "Mutya's getting defensive! Def-con level five!"
"We didn't do anything like that!" I hissed, glaring at Ci-N who was practically vibrating with laughter. "We just talked and... and had breakfast!"
"Oh, breakfast?" Eren piped up "Was it breakfast in bed? Or breakfast on the sand? I hear the sand adds a certain... texture."
"Shut up, Eren!" I threw a piece of my muffin at him
I looked over at Keifer, desperate for him to intervene, but the idiot was just standing there with my brothers. He wasn't helping at all. In fact, he looked like he was trying to hide a smirk of his own.
The kitchen was already a madhouse, but it reached a whole new level when Aries walked in.
"Enough," he said, his voice authoritative. For a split second, Section E actually listened, but then they just laughed even harder. Aries ignored them and turned to me. "How are you, Jay?"
"Perfect," I said, giving him a small, tired smile.
He nodded, looking relieved, and pulled me into a quick, brotherly hug. But as he pulled back, his eyes caught something. His entire face shifted from "concerned brother" to "homicidal maniac" in point-two seconds.
"MARK KEIFER WATSON!" Aries suddenly bellowed.
The sheer volume of his yell brought everyone running. Percy, Jare, and the rest of Section E crowded into the kitchen doorway.
"What happened? Is there a fire?" Percy asked, looking around wildly.
"MY SISTER HAS A HICKEY ON HER NECK!" Aries yelled, pointing a trembling finger at my collarbone.
I felt my soul leave my body. My face turned a shade of red that shouldn't be humanly possible. I instinctively slapped my hand over the spot where Keifer had nipped me on the sand.
"No! It's not... it's not a hickey!" I stammered, trying to pull my collar up.
"Then what is that, Keifer?" Jare growled, stepping forward. He looked like he was about to bench-press the entire kitchen island. "I told you specifically not to bite my sister!"
"Dammmn!" Edrix whispered, leaning over to Mayo.
"Keifer, you're a dead man," Blaster added, sounding way too excited about the potential brawl.
Mia suddenly shoved Jare out of the way, her eyes sparkling with gossip. "Jay babes! Move your hand! Tell me everything! Was it the beach? The balcony? Give me details!"
"It's NOT a hickey!" I shouted, desperate for a way out. "I was... I was curling my hair! This happened with the curling iron! If you don't want to believe me, then come on, I'll go to the room and show you proof!"
I held my breath, praying that nobody actually took me up on the offer, because I definitely didn't have a curling iron plugged in.
Jare and Aries both squinted their eyes, leaning in way too close to my neck. They looked like two detectives examining a crime scene.
"Wait..." Jare said, rubbing his chin. "Now that I think of it... the shape is kind of elongated."
"Yeah," Aries muttered, his shoulders finally dropping an inch. "I've seen Mama do that to herself before. It looks exactly like a curling iron burn."
I let out the longest breath of my life. Thank God they're idiots.
"See?" I said, trying to act offended. "You guys are so dramatic. I'm trying to look pretty for my wedding and I burn myself, and all you do is scream at my fiancé."
Keifer, who had been uncharacteristically silent the whole time, finally let out a low, dark chuckle. He leaned in, his mouth hovering just inches from my ear so only I could hear him.
"A curling iron, huh?" he whispered, his voice vibrating with amusement. "That's a good one, Mutya. But just so you know... I don't plan on being that 'careful' with the iron on our wedding night."
I stepped on his foot—hard—but I couldn't stop the shiver that ran down my spine.
"Okay, move it, everyone!" Mia shouted, shooing the boys out. "She needs to get ready."