Chapter-297 Party Like a Watson

Keifer's POV

Ion stares at my secret phone for a while.

"Her name is Jay-jay? I thought she was a guy," she said with a smile. "She's cute. But why does she look like this in the picture? Can I see a decent photo of her?"

I showed her the photo that came from C-in. And obviously, she's not even looking at the camera. Her nostrils are flared, and she's glaring at someone off-screen.

C-in never gave me a proper shot of her.

"Swipe the screen, maybe you'll find one," I said before sitting down beside her.

I had just finished dressing up for the party. Ion helped me choose what to wear—right after I cried a river. And I still can't believe I did that in front of her like a child. I've only ever cried like that in front of Jay-jay.

She smiled when she saw a few funny faces of my queen.

"I like her already," she said and handed my secret phone back to me. "She's the reason why you don't want to marry me?"

"And her cousin is the reason why you want to marry me," I stated.

Her smile disappeared, and she seemed to think hard about what I just said.

"Cousin? She's a cousin of—oh dear." She looked shocked, worried, but ended up laughing. "What did he say? I know you two are not in the same boat."

"Well, he obviously doesn't like the idea of me being with his cousin. Sometimes I receive curses or threats."

She giggled. "He's always been that possessive type. I didn't know he'd be the same toward his girl cousin."

I arched a brow. I could see a glimpse of amazement in her eyes.

"Only to her," I said and stood up.

She followed right after me. I fixed my stuff and checked on Mom's gift. She always has a surprise for me. She put so much faith that I'd receive her gifts.

"How'd you find me anyway?" I asked.

"I called your brother then he called your driver," she smiled innocently.

I nodded once. I made sure Mom's gift was placed somewhere it wouldn't be easily noticed by others. I had no plans of bringing it to the party. There were a lot of important documents inside. I walked out with Ion following behind.

I saw Uncle getting ready, fixing his bow while his butler stood beside him.

"Ready?" he asked me.

"I think," I answered, and he chuckled."I'll wait for you outside."

I stepped out ahead. I knew Ion was just behind me. I approached the car that had brought her here.

"See you at the party tonight," I said while opening the door.

She walked closer and stopped in front of me. "You mean tomorrow night?"

"Tss. There's no difference. It's my birthday in a few hours."

"Then it's almost your birthday." She smiled and leaned in closer.

I thought she was going to kiss me on the cheek—but she was aiming straight for my lips.

I quickly pulled away to dodge, but I bumped into the car door. She took advantage of the situation and continued her scheme.

I tried to turn my face, but her lips still reached the side of mine. I gently pushed her and gave her a deadly glare.

"Ion." I said with authority.

She smiled innocently. "Happy Birthday, Keifer. I will always be your first kiss." She got inside the car.

But you won't be the last.

I closed the door and walked away. I stopped when I saw Uncle and his butler. They were both looking at me intently. I heard Ion's car engine start.

Uncle shook his head. "Young generation is so complicated."

"I-it's not what you think," I tried to explain, but they turned their backs.

"What can I say? You're a Watson after all."

He got into his car and left me standing nearby. I watched them drive away.

I sighed and went straight to my car. My driver started the engine and followed Uncle's car. I wiped the side of my lips.

Fvck this! Fvck this! Fvck this!

If they find out what she did, I'm doomed. I can't believe I let her do that. I let her kiss me—yes, it was indirect—but still a kiss.

Jay-jay can't find out about this. She's already on the verge of giving up on me. If this reaches her, she might leave me for good.

The entire ride was spent overthinking what might happen and how to keep what Ion did a secret.

I was staring at my secret phone when we reached the Watson Mansion. Expensive cars were parked in front of the mansion. I checked the time through my secret phone.

1 hour.

The car stopped, and I immediately got out. Uncle and his butler were waiting for me. They were standing near the door.

"Sorry for keeping you wait," I said.

"Are you ready, Birthday boy?" Uncle asked.

I massaged my nape. "Please don't call me that."

He laughed and turned. We started walking toward the mansion door. A few of our relatives were walking along with us toward the hall.

Some of them greeted Uncle but ignored me like I didn't even exist. I'm not sure if they don't recognize me or if they simply choose not to.

When we arrived at the hall, the staff opened the door. Music immediately flooded out from inside—a classical piece played on piano.

Let me vomit.

Uncle entered first, and his butler and I followed close behind.

Some people looked our way, and a few of them immediately changed their expressions upon recognizing me. Some quickly avoided me and moved away from my path. Others whispered among themselves, and a few gave me fake smiles.

We were still a bit far off, but I could already hear the loud laughter of the Elders. I should brace myself for their insults.

"Kier, you shouldn't be here," the Oldest said as we approached them.

"This is also my house. I have the right to be here, Maveric." Uncle replied with a deadpan expression.

"I'm talking about your health condition," the Oldest answered with irritation.

I could sense the superiority radiating from him—intimidating despite his age.

Funny. After all this time, I only now found out the first name of the oldest Elder. Maybe because I never gave a fvck about him.

"My health never matters to you."

I wanted to laugh at how blunt Uncle Kier was being. It was also obvious the old man was getting pissed off. I looked around at the other Elders, all clearly unhappy to see us.

One of the Elders sitting right beside the oldest looked directly at me.

"Keifer. Go find Hazel." he commanded.

I gave a short nod and said my goodbyes to them. I walked off to look for my cousin, just as they asked.

So many rich people.

I almost laughed at my own thought. Of course, they're rich—they wouldn't be Watsons if they weren't.

I watched how they flaunted their sophistication. Jewelry sparkled from every part of their bodies. Expensive clothes flowed as they moved. Too many voices, too many conversations. Drinks everywhere—and the buffet too.

This is the first celebration, and this is how a Watson organizes a party. When they say Watson style, they mean it. Party like there's no tomorrow. Drink like it was your last drink. Dance like no one is watching. And they say rich people are boring.

A Watson birthday party consists of two celebrations—the first one starts at midnight, waiting for the clock to strike 12AM. It's their way of welcoming the celebrant's day. The second celebration is held at the end of the day.

The first celebration is usually for the celebrant's relatives, while the second is for anyone they invited.

I don't see the purpose of having two parties. The same thing happens in both anyway—introduce the birthday celebrant, eat, small talk, dancing, then go home. So what's the difference? This is a waste of time.

I saw Hazel talking to someone. I planned not to approach her anymore, but she already saw me and walked toward me instead.

She greeted me with a light slap on the cheek. People nearby turned to look at us. But Hazel immediately smiled and fixed my clothes.

"That's not how you wear Gucci." she said with a forced smile.

"Yeah right," I said sarcastically.

She leaned closer and whispered, "That's for hurting my brother."

I knew it from the start. My lips formed a smirk and I leaned toward her ear. "He deserves it."

She gave me a slight push, and I saw the anger in her eyes. We do have the same eyes when we're mad. Part of the Watson traits, I guess.

"Don't start with me."

"Your brother started it. He's always tempting my patience."

She sighed. "I'll let it pass for now. But next time, I'll make you pay."

I rolled my eyes. She can make me pay now. I want to see her capabilities as a Watson. She hooked her arm through mine and slightly pulled me toward the group she was talking to earlier.

"Keifer..." she caught my attention. "...these are our other cousins."

I looked at them and almost raised a brow. It was obvious they didn't want to meet me. They gave me forced smiles. Others looked me up and down.

No one dared to come forward and introduce themselves, so Hazel did it for them. She let go of me and approached one of them.

"Keifer, this is Angelica Louise Sendrijas. She owns the Sendrijas Pharmaceutical Company in Germany," Hazel said.

She tried her best not to show her irritation, but I could still sense it. Angelica offered her hand for a handshake.

"Nice to meet the only heir of the Watson inheritance," Angelica said with sarcasm.

I just looked at her hand and turned indifferently to the others. From the corner of my eye, I saw how pissed she was—until she couldn't take it anymore and walked out.

Hazel looked at me with a threatening glare. Then she moved on to another one of our cousins.

"I want you to meet the head of the Orcas Foundation, Hannah Luisa Orcas."

Hannah just smiled at me but didn't bother to offer her hand. I showed no reaction.

Next, Hazel introduced the twins who had been staring at me earlier.

"This is Ayana Rain and Dana. They handle a very famous jewelry shop in Paris," Hazel said, and they both smiled at me.

She again dragged me to another group of people.

"Gierence..." she caught their attention. "...This is Keifer, our cousin from the Philippines."

I almost raised a brow. That's incomplete. She should've told them I'm the heir of the family.

Gierence offered his hand for a handshake, but I immediately ignored it. He simply nodded and pulled the woman beside him closer.

"This is my wife Samantha, by the way," he introduced, but I noticed how he glared at me.

I know that look. I'm not interested in his wife. I have my beautiful Jay-jay.

Hazel introduced even more people to me. Almost all our time was spent with her dragging me around.

But my suffering at her hands came to an end. The eldest of the Elders stepped up onto the mini stage and spoke into the mic.

I saw our other cousins signaling us to come closer to the stage. Hazel went ahead, and I followed.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. As the eldest member of this family, I would like to thank you for joining us..." he said, raising a glass of champagne. "As you all know, the only heir of this family is celebrating his upcoming birthday. He's of legal age to accept the first term of the last will and testament of my late brother, Keeper."

Yup, I have the same name as him.

"From this night forward, he will no longer be the bastard of this family, but the next CEO of Watson Enterprise. So please come closer and sing with us. Let's welcome the day of his birth."

A large cake was brought up to the mini stage to the sound of applause from the guests. It was a shining black cake with gold lettering of my name and "Happy Birthday." Very simple, yet it looked elegant and expensive.

Keigan was the one pushing it to the center. Uncle Kier slightly nudged me to get on the stage. I kept a blank expression as I stared at them all.

Keigan smiled at me while clapping. "Happy Birthday, Kuya."

I ruffled his hair. "Thank you, Keigan."

He stepped aside and let me approach the cake. Everyone started singing the never-ending birthday song in unison.

"🎶Happy Birthday to you..."

While looking at them and listening to their song, I couldn't help but think of my friends.

We used to celebrate together—drinking all night, endless food parties. They even rented that karaoke machine just to watch Ci-N sing the whole songbook.

We celebrated like there was no tomorrow. I can imagine how happy I was—and I would've been even happier if Jay-jay had joined us.

The song ended, and the guests waited for me to blow the candle. I did what they were all hoping for, and loud applause followed.

Keigan handed me the mic. "Please thank them for attending your party."

I took the microphone and began to speak.

"Thank you for attending my birthday party." I looked at all of them—and I was completely shocked to see an unexpected guest.

The Monster.

"...but I don't need you here. So please leave and make sure I will never see your faces again." I said, my eyes never leaving his.

I heard the Eldest gasp, and Keigan called my name. The guests began to murmur harshly about me. Some called me a bastard, others said I was disrespectful.

One by one, the guests started to leave, except for him and his men.

"Keifer! What the hell is this?!" the Eldest called out.

"He's here," I said, almost in a whisper.

They all looked in the same direction I was looking.

"Kaizer," Uncle Kier said.

I felt Keigan's presence behind me. "K-Kuya..."

"Sshh... I'm here, Keigan. I won't let him hurt you." I said without turning to him.

I heard one of the Elders give orders to the staff. They immediately moved to close the doors after the last guest exited. All the bodyguards appeared and surrounded the entire hall.

The monster clapped his hands as he walked toward us.

"Happy Birthday, my son." He said and spread his arms, as if expecting a hug.

We all stepped down from the mini stage and slightly moved towards him.

"What the hell are you doing in here?!" Uncle Kier asked, his voice laced with threat.

"Attending the party of my precious son," he replied with a wicked smile. "Of course I won't miss the special day of my child. After all... I'm his father."

For some reason, my heart started pounding when he emphasized that last word. I wanted to puke—but I knew there was a deeper meaning behind it.

"What do you want?" I asked, trying to keep myself calm. "You will never get a single penny from my inheritance."

He smiled, shaking his head. "You're just like your mother."

I glanced at the people with him. I saw Dylan, his hitman, staring at Keigan behind me. I subtly moved to block his view.

"Leave now, Kaizer, or I will make you." The Eldest threatened.

"Oh please, not yet." He pretended to beg, but there was a smile on his face. Then he looked at me seriously. "We have some important things to talk about."

"Say what you wanted to say." I glared at him coldly.

He smirked. "You're the one who will say something to me."