By the time the third month rolled around, I thought I had survived the worst. The trauma of the kidnapping was fading into a dull ache, Yuri was a memory buried in the dirt, and my physical strength was slowly returning. But then, the hormones hit—and they didn't just hit; they staged a full-scale coup of my digestive system.
The "Starlight" wasn't just hungry. I was possessed.
POV: Jay (Jasper Jean Mariano)
It was 2:00 AM in the Black Box. The room was silent, save for the hum of the air purifier and the steady, rhythmic breathing of Keifer beside me. Since the kidnapping, my hubby slept like a soldier in a foxhole—one hand always touching my arm, his body positioned as a human shield.
Suddenly, my eyes snapped open. My stomach didn't just growl; it demanded a sacrifice.
"Hubby," I whispered, poking his shoulder. "Keifer. Wake up."
In a split second, he was sitting bolt upright, his hand reaching for the drawer where he kept his sidearm. "What? Is it a contraction? Is the perimeter breached? Felix, report!" He was already reaching for his comms.
"No, no! Relax," I said, pulling his hand back. "Everything is fine. I just... I need something."
He slumped back against the headboard, his chest heaving as he tried to regulate his adrenaline. "God, wifey, you nearly gave me a heart attack. What do you need? Water? A pillow? Do I need to call Ci n?"
"I need a green mango," I said, my mouth watering at the thought. "But not just a green mango. I need it dipped in hot chocolate. And I want a side of salt-and-vinegar potato chips crushed inside a vanilla ice cream sandwich."
Keifer stared at me in the dim light of the bedside lamp. He looked at me as if I had just started speaking an alien language. "You want... chocolate-covered sour mangoes... with vinegary ice cream?"
"Yes," I said, my voice turning suspiciously tearful. "And if I don't get it, I feel like the baby is going to stage a protest."
The Kitchen Chaos
Fifteen minutes later, the entire mansion was awake. Because Keifer didn't do "simple," the kitchen was now a brightly lit theatre of the absurd.
Aries (Horoscope) was standing at the counter in his silk robe, clutching a crystal. "The baby's palate is reflecting a chaotic lunar alignment, Jay! This craving is a sign of a restless spirit!"
"Aries, shut up and peel the mangoes," I groaned, sitting on a barstool while Alexander sat next to me, rubbing his sleepy eyes.
"Dad, why is Mumma eating the swamp food again?" Alexander asked, watching Mayo and Kit frantically scoop high-end vanilla bean ice cream into a bowl while Percy (Blue Eyes) crushed bags of chips with a meat tenderizer.
It's a 'delicacy,' Alexander," Keifer said, his voice deadpan. He was standing by the stove, actually melting a bar of 90% dark Swiss chocolate. The CEO of Watson Global was currently a sous-chef for a pregnant woman's nightmare.
Keigan and Keiran were standing by the pantry, holding various jars. "Ate, I found some pickled bagoong!" Keiran offered. "Do you want that on the ice cream too?"
I paused, seriously considering it. "Maybe. Bring it over."
"No!" Ci n shouted, walking in with Rakki. "As your doctor, I am vetoing the fermented fish on the ice cream. Your sodium levels will skyrocket. Stick to the chocolate mangoes."
The Feast of the Weird
Finally, the plate was set before me. A green, tart mango, drenched in warm, bitter dark chocolate, surrounded by a moat of vanilla ice cream encrusted with salt-and-vinegar chips.
I took a bite. It was... glorious. The sour crunch of the mango met the velvet of the chocolate, and the vinegar zip of the chips cut through the sugar like a scalpel. I felt a wave of pure, unadulterated bliss.
"Oh my God," I moaned, taking another bite. "This is the best thing I've ever tasted."
The men of Section E stood in a semi-circle, watching me with expressions ranging from pure horror to fascination
"I think I'm going to throw up just watching this," Rory whispered to Erdix. "Don't let Freya see this," Erdix replied. "If she starts wanting this, we're doomed."
Denzel and Calix were whispering about the "chemical reaction" of the vinegar and dairy, while Emman was already on his phone, probably wondering if he could sell this as a "limited edition" dessert in his hotels.
The Morning After: The Watermelon Incident
The cravings didn't stop at 2:00 AM. The next morning, I woke up and decided that I hated the smell of the house.
"It smells like... expensive leather and security," I complained to Ma (Jeena) and Ate Ion. "I need the house to smell like fresh watermelon. But I don't want to eat the watermelon. I just want to sit in a room full of them."
By noon, Keifer had ordered three truckloads of watermelons.
Section E was tasked with the "unloading." I sat in the middle of the grand foyer, which was now filled with hundreds of green melons. Alexander was using them as a parkour course, jumping from one to the other with Donald and Grazel Jay.
"Hubby, why are you sitting on a watermelon?" I asked, looking at Keifer, who was trying to conduct a board meeting via Zoom while perched on a particularly large fruit.
"Because the chairs are all covered in watermelons, wifey," he said, his face a mask of calm resignation. "And because you said you wanted the 'vibe' of a fruit stand."
"It's perfect," I sighed, inhaling the sweet, watery scent. "But now... I think I want fried chicken dipped in strawberry jam."
I heard a collective groan from the hallway. Percy shouted from the kitchen, "I'm calling it! We're out of jam! Someone go to the store!"
The Heart of the Chaos
As the day wound down, the "watermelon fortress" was slowly dismantled by the staff, and I was back in bed, finally feeling satisfied. Keifer climbed in beside me, looking absolutely exhausted.
"Rough day at the office, hubby?" I teased, leaning my head on his shoulder.
"I spent four hours explaining to the London board why I was surrounded by watermelons, Jay," he said, pulling me into his arms. "And I have chocolate stains on my favorite tie from the 2:00 AM mango mission."
He looked down at me, his eyes softening as he placed his hand on my stomach. The "complications" were still there, the risk was still high, and we still had a long way to go. But in the middle of the weird food and the fruit-filled rooms, we were finally just a family again.
"Was it worth it?" I asked.
He kissed my forehead, then leaned down to kiss my stomach. "Every second. If the heir wants chocolate mangoes, the heir gets chocolate mangoes. And if my wifey wants a watermelon forest, I'll buy the whole plantation."
"I love you, Keifer."
"I love you more, Jay. Even if you smell like salt and vinegar."
The afternoon sun was streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Black Box lounge, casting a warm, golden glow over the chaos. For once, the room wasn't filled with medical equipment or tactical briefings. Instead, the coffee table was buried under heavy, velvet-bound albums—the archives of our life before the world turned upside down.
POV: Jay (Jasper Jean Mariano)
The whole family had gathered, lured in by Ma (Jeena) and Tita Gemma, who were on a nostalgia trip. Keigan and Keiran were leaning over the back of the sofa, while Section E—Percy, Aries, Ci n, and the rest—were scattered around with drinks in hand, surprisingly quiet for once.
In the center of it all was the master wedding album. Keifer sat beside me, his arm draped possessively over my shoulders. We reached the centerfold—a massive, high-definition shot of our wedding day.
It was a beautiful photo. Keifer looked like a lethal prince in his custom black suit, his eyes fixed on me with that intense, "you-are-my-entire-world" gaze. I was in my lace gown, laughing as he pulled me in for a kiss under a canopy of white flowers.
"God, Keifer, you actually looked human back then," Percy (Blue Eyes) joked, elbowing Aries. "Look at that smirk. He knew he'd won the lottery."
"I did win," Keifer muttered, his thumb tracing circles on my arm, making me feel that familiar heat in my cheeks.
Suddenly, a small, indignant huff came from the edge of the table. Alexander had managed to wedge himself between us, his nose inches from the photo. He squinted at the image, his little brow furrowing into a deep, Watson-style scowl.
He looked at the photo. Then he looked at me. Then he looked at Keifer.
"Dad?" Alexander asked, his voice high and accusing.
"Yes, buddy?" Keifer replied, oblivious to the storm brewing in our son's head.
Alexander pointed a tiny, trembling finger at the picture of us at the altar. "Where am I?"
The room went dead silent.
"Did you both marry without telling me?!" Alexander cried out, his eyes wide with betrayal. "Did you go to the party and not invite the ninja?!"
I felt my face go from a soft pink to a deep, burning crimson. Beside me, I felt Keifer stiffen, his own ears turning a distinct shade of red. The "Monster" of the business world was suddenly defenseless against the logic of a four-year-old.
"Oh, here we go," Keiran snickered, hiding his face in his hands.
"Well, Alexander," Aries (Horoscope) said, stepping forward with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "The stars hadn't finished cooking you yet! You were still a sparkle in the moon's eye."
"No!" Alexander stomped his foot. "I wanted to wear a suit! I wanted to eat the cake!"
"Actually, buddy," Ci n chimed in, leaning back with a smirk, "your Dad was so nervous that day, if you had been there, he probably would have tripped over you and fainted. We did you a favor."
"Lies!" Percy shouted. "Alexander, the truth is, your Mom and Dad were so obsessed with each other they forgot to invite anyone under four feet tall. It was a very exclusive club."
"I'm an officer!" Alexander argued, clutching his toy sword. "Officers get invited to everything!"
I hid my face in Keifer's shoulder, unable to stop the embarrassed giggle escaping my lips. "Alexander, baby, you weren't... you weren't born yet. We married so that we could have you."
Alexander looked at my stomach, then back at the photo. He looked deeply unconvinced. "So you stayed at the party... and I stayed in the dark?"
Keigan cleared his throat, trying to be the voice of reason. "Think of it this way, Alex. You were the surprise guest that arrived four years late. You're the grand finale."
"I want a re-do," Alexander decided, crossing his arms over his chest. "I want to be in the middle of the kiss. And I want a sword in the picture."
Keifer cleared his throat, his face still flushed as he looked down at our son. "Alexander, if we do a 're-do,' it's going to cost me another fifty million dollars and your Mumma is supposed to be on bed rest. How about we just Photoshop you in?"
"No! No 'Photo-shop'!" Alexander insisted. He looked at the family. "They did a secret marriage! Uncle Erdix, write this down! It's a crime!"
Erdix actually took out his tablet. "On it, Little Boss. Filing a report for 'Exclusion of a Ninja from Wedding Festivities.'"
I looked at Keifer, and he looked at me. Despite the embarrassment and the chaotic shouting of Section E debating the legality of a wedding without a toddler, there was a profound sweetness to it
Keifer leaned down, picking Alexander up and settling him on his lap, right over the wedding album. "Tell you what, buddy. When the new baby comes, we'll take a huge family photo. You can wear your cape, bring your sword, and stand right in the middle. Deal?"
Alexander considered this for a long moment. "And I get a cake?"
"The biggest cake in the Philippines," Keifer promised.
"Okay," Alexander sighed, finally appeased. He patted the photo of me in my wedding dress. "You looked pretty, Mumma. But you look better with me."
"I think he's right, wifey," Keifer whispered in my ear, his breath warm.
I leaned against him, my heart full. We were surrounded by the loudest, most protective, most ridiculous family in the world—and even though Alexander thought he'd missed the party of the century, I knew the real party had only started the day he was born.