JAY-JAY POV
We walked inside and found Mia sitting there, happily digging into a bowl of ice cream topped with pickles. My eyes widened. Wait a second. Is she...?
"Mia, are you pregnant?" I asked, rushing over to her side.
She nodded slowly, looking a little surprised. "Yeah... but how did you know so fast?"
"Girl, look at what you're eating! Ice cream and pickles?" I laughed, shaking my head.
I turned to see Keifer looking back and forth between us, looking completely lost. "That's the universal sign of pregnancy cravings, Keifer. You should've seen me when I was expecting—that was literally all I ate."
As soon as the words left my mouth, the room went heavy.
The smile slid right off Keifer's face, and his expression dropped.
"Yeah," he said quietly, his voice thick with a regret that stung. "I really should have been there for that."
Shit. The air left the room. I hadn't meant to throw it in his face, but the reminder of the time we lost hung over us like a dark cloud.
Mia and Caleb went totally silent, the celebration suddenly feeling awkward and fragile. I wanted to take the words back the second I said them.
But then, Keifer took a deep breath. He forced a small, genuine smile and turned toward Mia and Caleb, pushing his own feelings aside.
"TITA!" Keira squealed, running over and hugging Mia's legs. "Am I gonna have a baby cousin?"
Mia leaned down, hugging her back with a warm smile. "Yes, you are."
The boys, Kade and Kevin, weren't far behind. They swapped looks before turning their big, pleading eyes toward me.
"Mama, we also want a baby!" Kade piped up, sounding way too certain for a kid his age.
I froze, my heart skipping a beat. I glanced nervously toward Keifer before looking back at my son. "Baby... your Tita is the one having a baby right now. You'll have a cousin to play with!"
"But Ma, a baby cousin won't stay with us," Kevin pointed out, crossing his arms logically.
"Please, Ma?" Keira added, leaving Mia's side to join her brothers.
Before I could form a coherent sentence, all three of them had surrounded me, forming a tiny circle of peer pressure. I felt my face heating up. After the awkwardness of just a minute ago—the reminder that Keifer had missed my first pregnancy—having the kids beg for another one felt like a whirlwind.
I looked up at Keifer, desperate for backup, but I couldn't tell what he was thinking. The room was silent again, but this time, all eyes were on us.
"Yeah, Jay, another one won't hurt," Mia chimed in, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she took the kids' side.
"Mia!" I hissed, giving her a look that said not helping! My heart was racing. With the tension between Keifer and me still simmering under the surface, this was the last conversation I expected to have in front of an audience.
Just as I was about to stammer out another excuse, Keifer stepped in.
"Not now, guys. Maybe later," he said quietly.
He crouched down to the kids' level, meeting them eye-to-eye. The authority and softness in his voice made the three of them stop their begging instantly. He reached out, ruffling Kevin's hair and giving Keira a small, reassuring smile.
"Right now, we're going to focus on your new cousin," he added, his tone steady but firm.
The kids seemed satisfied with a 'maybe,' and they started whispering among themselves about whether the baby would be a boy or a girl. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, but as Keifer stood back up, our eyes met for a split second.
The "maybe later" hung in the air between us—partly a distraction for the kids, but partly something else. Something that reminded me that despite everything he'd missed, he was here now.
"Mia, you should rest," I said, pointing toward the clock on the wall. "It's already 9 PM."
"Wait, what? Since when?" Mia asked, looking genuinely surprised at how fast the time had flown.
"Mia, babe, Jay is right. Let's go get some sleep," Caleb added, gently taking her hand and leading her toward the guest room.
Once they were gone, I turned my attention to the trio standing in front of me. "You guys already had your dinner. It's time for bed—no arguments."
"Fine," all three of them groaned in unison, realizing I wasn't going to budge.
Keifer remained silent throughout the whole process, watching me navigate the bedtime routine. We walked the kids to their room together. I leaned down and kissed each of their foreheads, and Keifer followed my lead, tucking them in and kissing them goodnight just as I did. It felt... natural. Like a real family.
As we stepped back out into the hallway, Keifer began to turn toward the door of his own room.
"You can sleep in my room," I said softly, the words coming out before I could overthink them.
He stopped in his tracks and turned around, his eyes wide with surprise. "Really?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper.
I nodded, feeling a small smile pull at my lips. A look of pure relief and joy washed over his face. He smiled back, and together, we walked into my room and closed the door behind us.
We fixed the pillows and settled under the covers, the house finally quiet around us. Even though we were lying down, the air between us was thick with everything we hadn't said yet.
"Jay?" he whispered into the dark.
"Hmm?" I responded, staring up at the ceiling.
"How did you feel... when you first found out you were pregnant with them?" Keifer asked.
I turned onto my side to face him, finding him already watching me, his eyes searching mine for an answer.
"I didn't know what to do," I admitted, my voice small and honest. "I was barely surviving back then. When I found out about the kids, I was terrified. I was so scared that I wouldn't be enough for them on my own."
His eyes began to brim with tears, turning a raw, glassy red. "Did you ever want to come back?" he asked, his voice cracking.
"Every day, every hour, every minute, every second," I said, the truth aching in my chest. "Every day, I imagined what it would feel like just to be in your embrace again."
"Then why didn't you come?" he asked, a single tear finally escaping.
I looked at him, feeling the weight of the years we lost. "You and I both know the answer to that, Keifer."
The silence of the room was broken by the sound of a choked sob. Keifer turned away, burying his face in his hands as he started to cry—the kind of deep, ragged sobs that come from years of holding it in.
"This is all my fault," he choked out, his voice thick with self-loathing. "If I had just listened to you, Jay... we wouldn't be here. We wouldn't have lost all that time."
My heart ached seeing him like this. I moved closer, reaching out to gently wipe the hot tears from his cheeks.
"It's in the past, Keifer," I whispered, trying to soothe the storm inside him. "Maybe if I had been in your place, I would have thought the same thing."
Likely not, I thought to myself. To be honest, if roles were reversed, I probably would have punched him or something far worse. But seeing him broken like this wasn't what I wanted.
"But you would've listened to me, Jay," he argued, his eyes red and searching mine for a forgiveness he didn't think he deserved.
I didn't answer. Instead, I moved into his space and wrapped my arms around him. He immediately reacted, burying his face in the crook of my neck and wrapping his large hands tightly around my waist, pulling me against him as if he were afraid I'd vanish if he let go.
The heavy tension in the room snapped, replaced by something lighter, something hopeful.
"That's in the past, Keifer," I said firmly, pulling back just enough to look him in the eye. I wiped the remaining tears from his face with my thumbs. "We can't change what happened, but we don't have to live there anymore."
He took a deep breath, his eyes clearing as he looked at me with a new kind of determination. "Let's restart, Jay. From the very beginning."
I nodded, curious about what he meant.
Keifer sat up on the bed, smoothing out his shirt and clearing his throat as if he were preparing for a business meeting. "I'm Mark Keifer Watson," he said, extending a hand to me with a formal, lopsided grin.
I blinked at him, a laugh bubbling up in my chest despite the tears still drying on my cheeks. "Are you serious right now?"
"Dead serious," he murmured. He didn't wait for me to shake his hand; instead, he reached out and pulled me close, his grip firm but gentle. He looked at me like he was seeing me for the very first time. "Miss, you look very beautiful tonight. What is your name?"
I giggled, the sound feeling strange but wonderful after such a long night. I played along "Jay Jay"
"What a beautiful name Jasper Jean Mariano Watson" He said
I shoved his chest lightly, a real laugh finally breaking through the heavy emotions of the night.
"Idiot, I never told you my full name!" I said, shaking my head at his cheesy attempt at a restart.
"Details, details," he murmured with a grin. Before I could move, he tugged on my waist, pulling me even closer until I was sitting directly on his lap.
The playfulness in his eyes didn't mask the underlying heat as he looked up at me. His hands settled firmly on my hips, grounding me. "Fine then, stranger," he whispered, his voice dropping an octave as he played along. "Since you're playing hard to get, why don't you tell me? What is the name of the most beautiful woman in this room?"
I looked down at him, my heart doing a slow somersault. For a moment, it really did feel like the years of pain, the secrets, and the distance were fading away. Sitting here like this, it felt like we were just two people starting a brand new chapter.
"It's Jay-Jay," I whispered back, leaning down until our foreheads rested against each other. "And you better remember it this time, Mark Keifer Watson."
He didn't wait for another word. He leaned in, his lips meeting mine in a kiss that felt like a bridge over everything we had lost. For a second, I let myself get lost in it, but then the playfulness returned.
I pulled back, a smirk dancing on my lips. "Hold on. I don't think strangers are supposed to kiss each other this fast," I teased, putting my hands on his chest to keep some distance.
Keifer groaned, his eyes dark with a mix of humor and longing. "Forget the game, Jay. I've waited years; I want a kiss," he said, lunging forward to catch me again.
I laughed and scrambled backward on the bed, my heart racing in the best way possible. "Nope! You wanted to restart, remember? You have to earn it, Mr. Watson!"
"Oh, is that how it's going to be?" He moved with surprising speed, crawling across the mattress after me like a predator. "I'm a very determined man, Miss Jay-Jay."
I retreated to the edge of the bed, giggling as I tried to dodge his reach. The heavy, tear-filled air from ten minutes ago was gone, replaced by the sound of our laughter and the creaking of the bed. It felt like we were teenagers again, back before the world got complicated—just two people who couldn't help but be drawn to each other.
I grabbed a pillow and whacked him squarely in the chest.
"JAY!" he yelled, laughing as he tumbled back for a second. He immediately reached for the other pillow, his eyes lighting up with a competitive spark.
"Keifer, put the pillow down!" I warned, trying to keep a straight face while I scrambled to the other side of the bed.
He held the pillow like a shield, a mischievous grin on his face. He pointed a finger at his lips. "Kiss," he demanded. "That's the only way I put the weapon down."
I didn't hesitate. I swung the pillow again, hitting him right in the face this time with a soft thwack.
"How did you like that kiss?" I asked him, breathless from laughing.
He tossed his pillow aside and lunged for me, pinning my wrists gently against the mattress. "Tough crowd," he chuckled, looking down at me with so much affection it made my chest ache. "But I think I prefer the other kind."
"Jay, just one kiss," he pleaded, his voice dropping into that low, persuasive tone.
I looked at him, feeling my heart melt just a little. "Fine," I whispered.
Just as he started to lean in, his lips inches from mine, a frantic pounding erupted on the wood.
"MAMA! PAPA! OPEN THE DOOR!" Kade's voice boomed from the hallway.
Keifer groaned loudly, dropping his forehead against my shoulder in defeat. "Kade, bud, you should be sleeping in your room!" he called out, not giving up as he tried to sneak that kiss in again.
"Papa, we want to sleep here!" Keira's high-pitched voice joined in.
"Sweetheart, please... go back to your room," Keifer tried one last time, sounding desperate as he tilted his head toward mine again.
BANG! A loud, heavy thud hit the door, making us both flinch and jump apart.
"MAMA!" Kevin yelled, sounding like he was about to take the door off its hinges.
The romantic mood was officially dead. I let out a laugh at the frustrated look on Keifer's face. "Go open the door," I told him, giving him a playful shove.
Keifer dragged himself out of bed, grumbling under his breath and running a hand through his messy hair. He yanked the door open and looked down at the three shadows standing there.
"What do my three little menaces want?" he asked, leaning against the doorframe.
I reached for a pillow and chucked it right at the back of his head. "Don't call the kids menaces!" I scolded, laughing.
The kids didn't even wait for a formal invitation. As soon as the path was clear, they scrambled past Keifer like a pack of puppies and dived onto the bed, burrowing under the covers between our pillows.
Keifer stood by the door, watching our bed get overtaken. He looked at me, then at the three heads popping up from the duvet, and finally let out a resigned sigh. He climbed back in on the edge, and just like that, our "romantic restart" turned into a chaotic family sleepover.
Kade and Kevin snuggled into my sides, their small arms wrapping around me as they let out sleepy sighs. Across the bed, Keira didn't hesitate; she crawled right onto Keifer's chest, curling up into a tiny ball and falling asleep almost instantly.
Keifer looked down at our daughter with a look of pure, raw wonder, his hand resting gently on her back. He then stretched his other arm across the kids, reaching for me and pulling me just a little bit closer toward the center.
The bed was a mess of tangled limbs and blankets, and it was a far cry from the romantic night Keifer had been hoping for, but as I looked at him over the heads of our children, I realized this was even better.
I smiled, feeling the warmth of my family surrounding me from all sides. For the first time in years, the emptiness was gone. I closed my eyes, drifting off to sleep in the quiet comfort of being home.