JAY’s POV
I stood in the middle of the bridal suite staring at myself in the full-length mirror.
The ivory dress hugged my body like it had been made for me.
Off-shoulder lace framed my collarbones, the bodice cinched tight enough that every breath felt measured, and the heavy skirt pooled around my bare feet in soft, expensive waves.
My hair was pinned up with pearl combs, a few curls left loose to soften my face.
Makeup flawless.
Veil waiting on the chair behind me.
I looked perfect.
But I felt hollow.
Something sat wrong in my chest.
A quiet uneasiness that had been growing since I woke up.
Liam’s last text yesterday had been sweet, almost too sweet—”Can’t wait to see my wife tomorrow.” Thirty minutes.
Just thirty minutes and I would walk toward him.
I was sitting on the velvet chaise when the door of the bridal suite opened.
The very first person to enter was Mom, Dad right behind her, then Tita Gemma, Tita Serina, and Tito Keizer.
Next came Kuya Angelo, Aries, and Percy.
And last, filling the doorway like he owned the air itself, was Keifer.
Dark suit, dark eyes, jaw tight.
I expected tears of joy, the usual pre-wedding flood of “my baby looks so beautiful.” Instead my breath caught hard.
They all looked like their world had shattered, and I knew mine was about to follow.
I stood up, hesitated.
“Wh—Why are you all looking like this? Is everything okay?”
“Jay, anak.” Tita Gemma called, walking toward me.
“Calm down, baby. Sit down. Your Mom and Dad want to tell you something.”
I looked at my parents, confused.
“Jay,” A single tear slipped from Mom’s eyes, as if she could no longer hold them back.
“What we are going to tell you is going to hurt you, anak, but you need to be strong.”
“Mom.” I looked between her and Dad.
“What is it? You’re scaring me.”
“Princess.” Dad placed his slightly trembling hands over my head.
“Liam and his entire family are missing. They never reached the venue today.”
The words did not make sense at first.
I blinked.
“What?”
Kuya Angelo stepped forward, phone clutched white-knuckled.
“He’s gone. Liam and his entire family—vanished. Hotel suite cleaned out. No calls, no texts, nothing. Security swept the grounds.”
The words hit like ice water.
My vision blurred.
“No… he texted yesterday saying he couldn’t wait to see me in the dress. This can’t—” My voice broke into a sob.
Tears spilled, tracking down my cheeks.
I clutched the skirt of my gown, crumpling the perfect fabric.
I looked at my parents through tears.
“Mom, Dad… why me…” My voice barely above a whisper.
“What did I do to deserve this?”
Mom now fully sobbing, Dad no longer hiding his tears.
“No, princess, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Dad said, caressing my back, his voice cracking.
“You are our princess. He doesn’t deserve you.”
“Your Dad is right, babydoll.” Mom said between her own sobs.
“You are the best daughter we have.”
I pulled back to look into their eyes.
“But—but my wedding. He left me on my wedding day… like a fool.”
“No, baby—!” Mom wiped my tears away.
“Who told you that?” Aries said, pulling me into a tight hug.
“I told you right, you are our princess. Yes, you are a fool if you don’t understand what princesses are meant for. You are supposed to rule, not cry.”
“Baby sistah, isn’t my handsome face enough to make you smile rather than shed tears for that ugly brat?” Percy chimed in, wrapping his arms around both me and Aries, though raw emotion couldn’t hide in his voice.
I laughed despite the tears still flowing.
“I don’t have any handsome brothers, Kuya.”
The moment that sentence left my mouth, all three of my brothers protested in unison.
“Hoy—!”
Everyone laughed through their sadness, but as the laughter slowed, reality rushed back in.
Dad rubbed his face wearily.
“Guests are already seated in the wedding hall. Media outside. Ceremony in less than half an hour.”
Kuya Angelo’s voice cut through the silence, low and steady.
“There’s a way to fix it.” I looked up at my brother through blurry eyes.
He glanced once at Keifer, then back at me.
“Keifer can take Liam’s place. The ceremony happens. No one outside this room ever knows the groom changed. Families stay protected. You stay protected.”
My head snapped toward Keifer.
Memories slammed into me without mercy—the dare two nights ago when his nose brushed mine and my whole body lit up, every sharp argument, every look that lasted too long, every time I told myself I hated him while my pulse betrayed me.
Marry him?
The man who made me furious and breathless in the same heartbeat?
“No.” The word came out raw.
“I can’t. I won’t. Not him.” I shook my head hard, curls sticking to my wet cheeks.
“We barely stand each other. This is insane.”
Tita Serina moved before anyone else could speak.
She came right in front of me, gentle hands cradling my damp face the way a real mother would.
Her eyes were kind but firm.
“Jay, anak. You have always been like a daughter to us. In this family you will never be alone or ashamed. Keifer will take care of you. We will take care of you. Hold your head up. Let us carry the weight with you.”
I opened my mouth but nothing came out.
The comfort wrapped around the panic and left me silent, tears still falling, mind spinning too fast to form another refusal.
Kuya Angelo saw the silence.
He straightened.
“Everyone out. Now. I need to talk to my sister alone.”
Tita Serina squeezed my shoulder once more.
Keifer’s gaze lingered on me—unreadable, intense—before he turned and followed the others.
The door clicked shut.
Only Kuya and I remained in the suddenly too-quiet suite.
He walked to me, took one look at my ruined face, and pulled me straight into his chest. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
I broke.
Full ugly sobs against his barong while his big hand cradled the back of my head the same way he used to when we were kids and I scraped my knees.
“Kuya… I can’t do this,” I choked.
“I don’t love him like that. I’m scared. This morning I was supposed to marry someone else and now—”
“I know.” His voice was thick.
He eased me back just enough to look me in the eyes.
His own were red.
“Listen to me, troublemaker. Liam is a coward. He left you in a white dress with three hundred people waiting and cameras hungry for scandal. That man never deserved you. Not for one single day.”
My chest ached.
Fresh tears spilled.
His forehead pressed to mine.
“You don’t have to figure out forever today. You just have to walk down that aisle, marry Keifer and survive this day for your Mom, your Dad, and for all of us. I will be in the front row the entire time. If he ever hurts you after this I will break his face myself—I don’t care how rich the Watsons are. But right now I need you to be brave. Can you do that for me?”
I swallowed hard, shaking.
The fight drained out of me slowly, leaving only exhaustion and the terrifying knowledge that he was right.
The guests.
The families.
The humiliation waiting if I refused.
I gave the tiniest nod.
He exhaled like he had been holding his breath for minutes.
A watery smile tugged at his mouth as he tried to lighten the crushing air.
“Good girl. And just so we’re clear—I’m going to walk outside and tell Keifer that if he makes my sister cry even once after he puts that ring on her finger, I will personally bury him in the foundation of his own building. Deal?”
A broken laugh escaped me through the tears.
“Deal…. I’ll do it.”
He kissed my forehead , lingered, then rested his chin on top of my head for one more second.
“I’ll send makeup artist back in. We fix your face, we put the veil on, and you walk like the queen you are. I’ve got you. Always.”
I nodded again against him, heart slamming, dress suddenly heavier than before.
Thirty minutes.
I was going to marry Keifer Watson.
And somewhere under the fear and the heartbreak, a dangerous little spark I refused to name, refused to die.
Kuya stepped back, squeezed both my hands, and headed for the door.
I turned back to the mirror alone.
The girl in the ivory dress still looked perfect.
She just no longer knew who she was about to become.
Here’s your new chapter
WHERE THE FUCK LIAM IS…!?
Does he finally know his place and run away…?
Or he thought he can’t cross Jay….?
Or…..
suspense….hehehe😁
Though we are happy JayJay and Keifer are finally getting married but what happened to Liam….is he coward or something happened right under our nose and we don’t even sense it happening….😏
Nope not gonna tell you…
because I will let your little brain think about this…..
Soooo here’s me, your lazy writer, signing off
Meet you soon with another chapter.