JAY JAY POV
I went straight to my room and slammed the door. My head was thumping.
Actually, that "Rooster" has some nerve.
Planning a dinner with his family like he's actually achieved something? And he wants me to wear red? Please. In his wildest, most delusional dreams.
I don't even get why he's obsessed with red. His hair is already that obnoxious shade of crimson. If he wears a red suit, he won't just be a rooster; he'll be a full-blown, walking fire hazard.
But his fashion sense isn't the real crisis here. The real problem is I am not marrying a poultry product. No way.
And don't even get me started on the name. I tried to say it out loud just to see how cursed it sounded:
Jasper Jean Fernandez Mariano Hanamitchi.
I gagged. That's not a name; that's a grocery list of everyone I'm currently annoyed with. It's way too long, way too weird, and sounds like a collision between three different continents.
Hanamitchi. Ugh.
I reached for the racks and finally pulled out an outfit. Even though I hated being told what to do, I decided to play the part for now—at least this way, I'd fit in enough to catch them off guard. I chose a red dress
I slipped it on, adjusted the straps, and stood in front of the full-length mirror.
"Damn, Jay-Jay," I whispered to my reflection, a smirk tugging at my lips.
I didn't just look good; I looked hot. No, scratch that—I looked sexy. I turned to the side, admiring how the fabric hugged my curves. Whoever ends up being my husband is going to be incredibly lucky. I mean, look at me. Who is the lucky guy who gets to stand next to this?
I went downstairs
I stood at the top of the stairs for a moment, letting the red fabric of my dress catch the light. I looked incredible, and I knew it. But as I descended, my gaze landed on Kuya Angelo.
He was leaning against the wall, his expression heavy with a sadness he couldn't hide. He looked like he'd aged five years in a single day. I knew exactly what was going through his head—he felt like he was throwing me to the wolves just to save the company. He felt like he'd failed me.
Don't look at me like that, Kuya, I thought, my heart aching for him. I'm doing this for us.I won't let Fer Crop die. I'll save the company, but I'm doing it on my own terms. I
I reached the bottom and ignored the "Rooster" waiting for me. I walked straight to Angelo and gave his hand a quick, firm squeeze before he could say anything.
"Jay…" he started, his voice thick with regret.
"Don't," I whispered so only he could hear "it's okay Kuya"
I turned around to face Yuri. He was standing there, looking me up and down with an expression that was half-smug and half-awed. He was draped in red, just like I was.
"You actually wore it," Yuri said, a hint of triumph in his voice. "I knew you'd see reason. We look like a perfect match."
I rolled my eyes so hard it almost hurt.
I walked toward the door without waiting for him
we walked toward his car
"Everything is ready," Yuri said as he started the engine. "My family is expecting a lot from tonight, Jay. Try to be… agreeable."
"It all depends on your family," I shot back, my voice as cold as the AC in his car.
Yuri hit the engine, and the car hummed to life. We pulled out of the driveway
For a few minutes, the only sound was the tires on the pavement, but I knew the Rooster couldn't keep his beak shut for long.
"So… Keifer's gone to London," Yuri started, his tone light, as if he were just talking about the weather and not the fact that my world had just imploded.
I gripped my clutch tight, my knuckles turning white. "So what? Do you want me to cry?" I asked, throwing a jagged look his way. Inside, I was screaming, wanting to sob until my lungs gave out
"Jay, please," Yuri said, his voice dropping into that soft, "Try to forget Keifer. I can help you… if you just let me in."
I felt a surge of pure annoyance.
Forget him? Forget the King of Assholes who had just ripped my heart out and taken it on a plane to London? Not likely. And I definitely didn't need a red-headed replacement.
"I think we're here," I interrupted, my voice flat.
I didn't wait for him to park properly or open my door. The second the car stopped in front of the massive Hanamitchi estate, I hopped out.
Yuri quickly came around and guided me toward a massive dining hall where the air smelled of expensive perfume and stifling tradition.
As soon as the doors opened the place looked like a sea of red. It looked like a crime scene but with more glitter.
"Jay-Jay, come!" Mrs. Hanamitchi chirped, waving me over with a smile that was so fake it made my teeth ache. This woman didn't like me any more than I liked her hair color, but here she was, playing the doting future mother-in-law.
I forced a polite smile and sat at the long table
At the head of the table sat an old man with sharp, judgmental eyes. The Headmaster. He looked at me for a long time before speaking.
"So, young lady, would you like to introduce yourself?" he asked, his voice gravelly and heavy with authority.
"Yes, po. I'm Jasper Jean Fernandez Mariano," I said, keeping my voice steady and respectful. I knew how to play the part when I wanted to.
He nodded slowly. "Your parents' names?"
"Jasfher Mariano and Reycee Mariano, po," I answered.
He hummed in response, then looked at the rest of the table. "Let's eat, shall we?"
I started to eat, but I could feel his gaze on me the entire time. I was just taking a bite when he hit me with the question I was dreading.
"Then... how are you related to the Fernandez family?" he asked, leaning forward. The table went silent.
I put my fork down. I hated talking about this, especially to a room full of strangers who were judging my bloodline like I was a racehorse.
"Sir, my birth mother is Jeana Fernandez, but she gave me up," I said, my voice losing a bit of its warmth. "My papa took me in, and Mama Reycee was my stepmother."
The room felt colder. I didn't feel comfortable sharing my messy family history with these people, especially since Jeana, the woman who gave me up, was currently living in my house trying to play "mom"
"That's nice," he finally said, though his tone suggested he found it anything but. He went back to his steak, dismissive as ever.
I tried to focus on my plate, but the peace lasted all of ten seconds before another woman—presumably one of Yuri's aunts, judging by the way her jewelry clattered as she moved—leaned inward.
"Jay-Jay, dear," she started, her voice dripping with that fake upper-class syrup. "Tell me, how long does it take you to clean an entire house of this size?"
I blinked. Excuse me? I looked at her, and then at the rest of the table. They weren't even hiding it. They were looking at me like I was the maid.
I forced a smile, the kind that doesn't reach your eyes because you're busy imagining how to ruin someone's life.
"Well," I said calmly, "since this house is very big, logically it might take one maid an entire four hours. Two maids? Two hours. Four maids? One hour."
The aunt chuckled, a sharp, unpleasant sound. "But dear, we're asking you how long it will take you."
I felt Yuri stiffen beside me. He knew that look on my face
"But dear," I shot back, my smile turning razor-sharp, "I'm not your maid. If you're looking for a cleaning schedule, I suggest you ask your staff. I'm here for a dinner, not a job orientation."
The table went dead silent. Mrs. Hanamitchi's fake smile twitched so hard I thought her face might crack.
The Headmaster leaned back, his eyes narrowing as he scrutinized me. "Jay-Jay, what are your future plans?"
I didn't hesitate
"I'm going to college, and I plan to have my own career," I said, my voice clear and firm.
Yuri's mom let out a little tittering laugh, the kind that made me want to roll my eyes into the back of my head. She smiled at me with that same synthetic sweetness. "Jay-Jay, dear... actually, in this family, the women don't work. Your job will be to manage the household and support your husband."
I opened my mouth to give her a piece of my mind, but Yuri actually beat me to it.
"Ma, if Jay wants to work, then she will work," Yuri said, surprisingly firm.
I glanced at him. Good. At least the Rooster knows that if I had to speak for myself, his mom would probably end up regretting every life decision she's ever made.
But the Headmaster wasn't done. He ignored Yuri's small act of rebellion entirely.
"After the wedding, we are expecting a grandson from you two immediately," he said, his tone as casual as if he were ordering a side of mashed potatoes. "The Hanamitchi line must continue. We have a legacy to maintain."
The blood in my veins turned to liquid fire.
Beside me, Yuri's ears turned a shade of red that actually put his suit to shame.
"So," the Headmaster continued, pinning me with his judgmental gaze. "What is your opinion on that?"
"My opinion?" I asked, tilting my head and offering a smile that was all teeth. "My opinion is that I'm seventeen years old, not a breeding machine. If you're really that desperate for a grandson, then I suggest you find another woman. I have zero intention of getting pregnant at eighteen, especially not for your family. So yeah, go find someone else to be your breeding machine, because I'm not the one."
The table went so quiet I could hear the aunt across from me stop breathing.
"You..." Mrs. Hanamitchi gasped, her hand flying to her chest. "How dare you speak to the Headmaster like that!"
The Headmaster's face turned a terrifying, mottled purple. He looked like he was about to have a stroke right then and there.
"She is a brat, Yuri!" he finally roared, slamming his palms onto the table so hard the silverware rattled. "Nothing but a pure, uneducated brat!"
I stood up slowly, the red fabric of my dress shimmering under the chandelier. I felt a cold, sharp clarity wash over me.
"What did you just call me?" I asked, my voice dropping to a level that made the aunt across from me shiver.
"A brat!" the old man barked back, his ego blinding him to the cliff he was about to walk off.
"Oh," I said, a dark smirk playing on my lips. "You just made the biggest mistake of your life. You want to see a brat? I'll show you exactly how much this 'brat' costs."
I ignored Yuri's frantic "Jay, please!" and pulled my phone from my clutch. I dialed Grandpa
"Jay-Jay?" Grandpa's voice came through, sounding alert. "Why are you calling at this hour? Is something wrong?"
"Pa," I said, making sure my voice carried across the room. "The Hanamitchis just called me a brat to my face. Do something about it. Now."
I also told him everything that had happened tonight
"Just give me one minute, sweetheart," Grandpa said, his voice turning into that deadly, cold tone that meant someone's bank account was about to die.
I hung up and checked my nails, standing there in the middle of their sea of red like a ticking time bomb.
"Who did you call?" Yuri's mom asked, her voice trembling.
I just smiled at her—a sweet, deadly smile.
"The only person who can end your entire family in less than one minute," I said.
The aunt who had been sneering earlier suddenly looked like she wanted to vomit. The Headmaster was still staring at his phone as if it had turned into a poisonous snake.
"No... no, no, no," the Headmaster stammered, his hands shaking so much he couldn't even grip the table. "Yuri, do something! She... she just wiped us out! The Mariano investments, the bank credits—they're all being liquidated!"
"Jay-Jay, what did you do?" Yuri's mother asked, her voice reaching a pitch that could shatter glass.
"Why don't you ask your Headmaster?" I replied, tilting my head with a smile that was still sickly sweet.
"Headmaster, what happened?" Yuri's father demanded, finally standing up, his face pale.
"Idiot! I already told you!" the Headmaster barked, clutching his chest as if his heart were trying to escape his ribs. "The Marianos stopped every deal we were working on! Every. Single. One."
I didn't even try to hide my smirk. I sat back and watched the chaos like it was a high-budget drama.
"Papa, it's just the Marianos, right?" Yuri chimed in, sounding like the clueless rooster he was. "We still have other partners… like the Watsons!"
"It's useless, Yuri!" his mother wailed, finally dropping the 'perfect hostess' act. Her hands were shaking so hard she spilled her red wine on the white tablecloth. "The Marianos are one of the richest companies in the world. Without their backing, their banks, and their shipping lines, our business will collapse in months. We're blacklisted!"
"But why?" Yuri asked, turning to me with big, bewildered eyes. "Why would they do that over a few words?"
The Headmaster looked at me, and for the first time, there was no stone-cold judgment in his eyes. There was only pure, unadulterated terror.
"They said..." he gulped, his eyes darting around the room at his family in red, "...they said they don't do business with people who insult the 'Princess of the Mariano Empire.'"
The entire room turned to look at me
I stood up, smoothing the front of my red dress
" Yuri," I said, my voice dropping the sweetness and turning into pure ice. "You guys made two very big mistakes. One: you thought I was a Fernandez you could bully. Two: you forgot I'm a Mariano who doesn't take insults from people who wear matching outfits."
I leaned over the table, staring the Headmaster straight in the eye.
"My Grandpa doesn't like it when people call his heiress a 'brat.' And he really doesn't like you Hanamitchi. He's only doing business with your clan because he doesn't want a whole family going bankrupt because of him. But what you did today…"
I paused, letting that sink in while Yuri's father looked like he was about to faint.
"But what you did today?" I continued, glancing around the room at all the shocked faces. "Insulting me, treating me like a servant, and talking about me like I'm some kind of breeding machine for your 'legacy'? That was the final straw. You didn't just insult a teenager; you insulted the future of the Mariano Empire."
"Jay, wait— we can fix this!" Yuri's mother begged, reaching out as if to grab the hem of my red dress.
I pulled away with a look of pure disgust. "Fix it? You can't fix a bankrupt reputation. My Grandpa has been looking for a reason to cut the cord with you vultures for years. You just handed it to him on a silver platter with a side of 'brat' on top."
I looked at Yuri, who was staring at me like I was a total stranger.
"Enjoy your independence, Yuri," I said. "Since the company is going under, you won't have to worry about being a CEO anymore. Maybe you can finally find a career that suits a rooster—like waking people up at dawn."
"Just so we're on the same page," I said, my voice projecting with a cold, clear authority that made even the Headmaster flinch. "From today onwards, I am not engaged to anyone. Our business, our families, and this pathetic 'contract' are over. Don't call me, don't follow me, and don't even think about stepping foot near Fer Corp ever again."
With that final nail in the coffin, I turned my back on them. I walked out into the cool night air, the heavy doors thudding shut behind me like a period at the end of a very long, annoying sentence.
I didn't wait for Yuri to chase after me, and I didn't wait for his family's pathetic apologies. I pulled out my phone and dialed the one person I knew would be there in a heartbeat.
"Jare?" I said the moment he answered. "Pick me up. I'm at the Hanamatchis. I'll explain everything later."
"Okay. Ten minutes," he said.
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