The morning sun hadn't even finished rising over the Black Box when the atmospheric pressure inside the mansion dropped to a dangerous low. The "Starlight" had been replaced by a super-cell storm. The 3rd-month hormones, combined with the lingering fatigue from the "Karaoke War," had mutated into a force of nature that only had two targets: Keifer and Section E.
POV: Jay (Jasper Jean Mariano)
I woke up and immediately hated the way the air felt. It was too "oxygen-y."
I looked over at Keifer—my hubby—who was sleeping peacefully, his hand still resting protectively on my hip. Normally, I found his sleeping face handsome. Today, I found the way he breathed personally offensive.
"Why are you breathing so loudly?" I snapped, sitting up abruptly.
Keifer's eyes flew open. He was in "Monster" mode in half a second, scanning the room for assassins. "What? Is the baby okay? Is the perimeter—"
"You're inhaling all the good air!" I cried, my eyes filling with sudden, hot tears of rage. "You're just lying there, being a billionaire, taking up space and oxygen while I feel like I'm carrying a bowling ball made of lead! Go away! Your face is too symmetrical today!"
Keifer blinked, looking completely bewildered. "Wifey... my face is the same as it was yesterday."
"That's the problem!" I sobbed, pushing him out of bed. "Get out! And tell Section E to stop being so... loud in the hallway! I can hear Rory thinking! It's giving me a headache!"
The Kitchen Massacre
I marched downstairs twenty minutes later, wearing one of Keifer's oversized hoodies. The kitchen was a tactical disaster zone. Section E was gathered around the island, and the mere sight of them made my blood boil.
Mayo was flipping pancakes. Kit was humming. Erdix was tapping on a tablet.
"ENOUGH!" I screamed, slamming my hand on the marble counter.
The entire room went silent. Mayo dropped his spatula. Erdix nearly fell off his stool. Alexander, who was eating cereal, slowly lowered his spoon.
"Ate?" Keiran whispered. "Are you okay?"
"No, I am not okay, Keiran! Why is Mayo flipping pancakes clockwise? It's unnatural! And Rory, why are you wearing that shirt? It's too blue! It's hurting my retinas!"
It's... it's just a navy polo, jay," Rory stammered, looking at Drew for help.
It's offensive!" I turned my gaze to Keifer, who had followed me down and was standing cautiously by the door. "And you! Hubby! Don't look at me with that 'I'm-worried-about-you' CEO face! I know you're secretly judging my hair!"
"I am definitely not judging your hair, wifey," Keifer said, his voice a masterpiece of forced calm.
LIAR!" I wailed, grabbing a piece of toast and throwing it at Felix. "You're all against me! Even the baby is kicking me because he knows you're all being annoying!"
The Silent Treatment and the "Blue Eyes" Incident
By noon, I had moved to the garden lounge. I had forbidden anyone from speaking to me unless it was in sign language, but that only lasted ten minutes because Aries (Horoscope) tried to use a crystal to "cleanse my mood."
Aries, if you point that rock at me one more time, I will make you eat it," I hissed.
Percy (Blue Eyes) walked in, trying to be the peacemaker. "Hey, sis. I brought you some—"
"Why are your eyes so blue, Percy?" I interrupted, glaring at him.
"Uh... genetics?"
"They're too bright! You're showing off! You're just walking around with your 'Blue Eyes' status trying to make the rest of us feel dull! Go put on sunglasses or leave!"
Percy backed away slowly, holding his hands up. "Okay, okay. Sunglasses it is."
The Section E "Trial"
I called a mandatory meeting in the lounge at 3:00 PM. Section E stood in a straight line like soldiers. Keifer sat in the chair next to me, looking like he was bracing for a deposition.
"I have a list of grievances," I announced, holding up a piece of paper I had scribbled on.
Denzel: Your breathing is too rhythmic. Break it up.
Ci n: You smell too much like antiseptic. You're a doctor, not a bottle of bleach.
Emman: Your hotel is the 7th richest. Why not the 1st? Your lack of ambition is stressing me out.
Felix: Your typing sounds like a swarm of angry bees. Use a silent keyboard or lose your fingers.
"Jay, I'm a hacker," Felix whispered. "I need to type."
"NOT TODAY!" I roared.
I looked at Keifer. "And you. Hubby. You haven't apologized for being rich in three hours."
Keifer didn't even blink. He just stood up, walked over, and knelt at my feet. "I am deeply sorry for my financial status, wifey. I am sorry for my symmetry, and I am sorry for existing in your peripheral vision while I am clearly a nuisance."
I looked at him, my bottom lip trembling. The rage vanished as quickly as it had arrived, replaced by a wave of soul-crushing sadness.
"Oh, Keifer," I sobbed, throwing my arms around his neck. "I'm a monster! I'm meaner than you! I told Percy his eyes were too blue! I'm a terrible person!"
The Recovery
Keifer lifted me into his arms, signaling for Section E to scatter. They vanished within seconds—Rory literally dove over a sofa to get out of my sightline.
"You're not a monster, wifey," Keifer whispered, carrying me up the stairs. "You're just building a human. It's a high-stress construction project."
"I made Mayo cry over a pancake," I sniffled into his chest.
"Mayo is a professional; he'll recover," Keifer said, kissing the top of my head. "And Emman is already calling his managers to find out how to get to #1 just to please you."
I squeezed him tight. "I still hate that blue shirt Rory was wearing, though."
"I'll have it burned by sunset," he promised.
I fell asleep against him, the storm finally passing. Downstairs, I could hear Section E whispering in the kitchen, terrified to make a sound, while Alexander stood guard at the bottom of the stairs with his sword, telling everyone to "Shhh, the Queen is grumpy."
The calm that had settled over the Black Box after my nap was nothing more than the eye of the storm. By 8:00 PM, the hormones didn't just return; they brought a specific, nonsensical hunger that felt like a life-or-death mission.
POV: Jay (Jasper Jean Mariano)
I stood at the top of the grand staircase, glaring down at the living room where everyone—and I mean everyone—was gathered. The Watsons, the Marianos, and the entirety of Section E were trying to act "normal," but I could see them flinching every time I took a step.
"Hubby!" I yelled, my voice echoing off the marble.
Keifer was on his feet before I finished the second syllable. He looked up, his "Monster" instincts fighting the urge to hide. "Yes, wifey? Are you in pain? Do you need Ci n?"
"I need food," I said, my bottom lip starting to tremble. "But if any of you judge me, I am moving to a hotel. Emman's hotel. The 7th richest one."
"Whatever you want, Jay," Emman called out quickly, not wanting to be on the receiving end of another lecture on his lack of ambition.
"I want," I began, pausing for dramatic effect, "a grilled peanut butter and bagoong (shrimp paste) sandwich. But it has to be dipped in cold calamansi juice. And I want a side of burnt marshmallows—black on the outside, raw on the inside."
The silence that followed was absolute
Ci n looked at Mica and Freya. As doctors, they were clearly trying to calculate the gastric distress of shrimp paste and peanut butter. Aries (Horoscope) clutched his amethyst stone. "The alignment... it's salty and sweet... the balance of the universe is in shambles!"
"Aries, shut up and find the marshmallows!" I snapped.
The Kitchen Chaos: All Hands on Deck
Because Keifer refused to let anyone else handle my primary nutrition, the kitchen became a crowded tactical center.
The Chefs: Keifer was manning the griddle, his face a mask of focus as he spread peanut butter on one side and pungent bagoong on the other. Mayo and Kit were standing by with a blowtorch, ready to carbonize the marshmallows.
The Juice Squad: Keigan and Keiran were squeezing calamansi into a silver bowl. "Is this enough, Ate?" Keiran asked tentatively. "One more squeeze and I'll have enough acid to melt a door."
The Security: Section E (Rory, Erdix, Drew, Denzel, Calix) stood in a perimeter around the fridge, terrified of blocking my path. Felix was on his laptop, probably researching if anyone had ever died from this combination.
The Family Observation: Pa Pa (Jasper), Ma (Jeena), and Tita Gemma sat at the breakfast nook. Kuya Angelo stood by the window, while Lia, Ion, Honey, and Ella were whispering about how they survived their own pregnancies.
"I can't breathe!" I suddenly shouted, pointing at Percy. "Your blue eyes are reflecting off the stainless steel appliances! It's too bright! Honey, put a blindfold on your husband!"
"On it, Jay!" Honey laughed, actually pulling a sleep mask over Percy's face.
"I'm blind! I'm a blind man in a war zone!" Percy yelled, stumbling into Rory.
The Taste Test
Finally, Keifer presented the plate. The smell was... pungent. The earthy peanut butter met the fermented sting of the shrimp paste.
Here, wifey," Keifer said, his hand steady as he held the plate. He looked at me with so much love and hidden horror that I almost felt bad. Almost.
I took a bite. I dipped it into the sour calamansi juice. I followed it with a charred, gooey marshmallow.
"Oh my God," I whispered, tears of joy streaming down my face. "It's perfect. You all actually love me."
"We're terrified of you, Jay," Calix muttered under his breath, earning a sharp elbow from Mica.
Alexander walked up, holding Donald and Grazel Jay's hands. The three kids looked at my plate like it was a science experiment gone wrong. "Mumma, is the bean-baby eating that? Does the bean-baby have no taste buds?"
"The bean-baby has refined taste, Alexander," I said, taking another huge bite.
The Sudden Shift
I was halfway through the sandwich when I looked at Section E. Rory was breathing a little too heavily. Erdix was clicking his pen.
"Why are you all staring at me?!" I suddenly screamed, the joy vanishing. "You think I'm a freak! I can see it in your eyes! Denzel, you're thinking about the caloric density! Grace, you're judging my sodium intake!"
"No, jay! We love the smell of fermented shrimp at 9 PM!" Erdix lied, his face turning slightly green.
Grandpa David chuckled, leaning on his cane. "I've lived through three wars, Jay. A sandwich won't scare me."
Section E scrambled for the exits. Keigan and Keiran tripped over each other trying to get to the hallway. Aries and Ella vanished toward the lounge, and Kuya Angelo just gave a silent nod to Keifer—a "good luck" signal—before leading Ion away.
The Quiet Aftermath
Within minutes, the kitchen was empty except for me, Keifer, and the half-eaten sandwich. I sat on the counter, my feet swinging, as I stared at the black marshmallows.
"Hubby?" I whispered.
"Yes, wifey?" Keifer said, stepping into the space between my knees. He didn't look at the sandwich. He only looked at me.
"Am I crazy?"
"Incredibly," he said, reaching up to wipe a smudge of peanut butter from my lip. "But you're my kind of crazy. And if you want the whole world to smell like shrimp paste and burnt sugar, I'll buy the air freshener factory."
I leaned my head against his shoulder, the mood swing finally ebbing away. "I think I want to apologize to Percy now. His eyes are actually a very nice shade of blue."
"Let's wait until tomorrow," Keifer suggested, kissing my temple. "I think he's still wearing the blindfold, and I'd like to enjoy the peace for five more minutes."
I laughed, the sound bubbling up from a place of pure contentment. The Black Box was chaotic, the food was a crime against nature, and my family was currently hiding in the vents—but as long as I had Keifer, the 3rd-month storm was just another adventure.