LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT - SEASON 2 CHAPTER 63
“Here drink this,” Gavin said with a hot chocolate in his hand.
“Thanks,” Thea accepted it. Gavin was a sweet guy who often looked after her at work and would assist her every now and then, like a real gentleman.
“It’s nice that you are back. I’ve asked the production team to get a replacement for me soon since I want to focus more on writing from now on,” Gavin explained to which Thea creased her forehead.
Gavin had mentioned before that he was considering quitting the anchor position, however, she was still surprised to hear his words just now because she had never thought that he was serious about it. “Are you sure? I mean, you have a great career as the prime news anchor, and people love seeing you on television… I think you need to rethink this.”
Gavin sighed. Thea was right, but he needed a break from his current job as it was starting to stifle him, and so far writing had been something that was helping him go through his current situation. So he would rather take a break to focus on it while traveling around the world.
“Hmm, something looks different about you,” he commented as he stared at Thea.
“What?” Thea asked and fixed herself, feeling self-conscious all of a sudden.
“Hmm, I don’t know, but you look brighter… perhaps beautiful?” Gavin said with hesitation, as though he was still thinking of the most proper word to describe it.
Thea lifted one eyebrow and said, “Are you saying I was not beautiful before, Gavin?”
Gavin laughed and said, “Of course not. You know you are beautiful, it’s just that you look more stunning… Ahh yeah, right, I think glowing is the right word.”
“Glowing?” Thea asked. Gavin nodded as he added, “Yeah, you look more relaxed now. Before, your eyes were always soulless but now they’re bright and it makes your face glow. I’m really glad to see this change. I can feel that something good has happened to you…”
Thea had always felt comfortable around Gavin and she considered him a good friend, so without a second thought she told him that she got married to Jeru Liu this morning and they were already expecting a baby.
“What?!” Gavin blurted out in disbelief and Thea confirmed it with her sweetest smile. “Since when were you close with him? Do you know what a terror his grandmother is?” Gavin asked because his family knew the Liu’s and he personally knew how forceful and harsh the Old Madam Liu could be.
“How do you know her?” Thea asked out of curiosity.
“Well, every year we have this event… Do you know the history of the legendary ruler King Yuren and his wife Xianyi?” asked Gavin.
Thea nodded… Of course, she knew them as a part of their country’s history. He was the only King who fought to marry just one woman and was faithful to his wife his whole life. Not only that, during his ruling, the country was known to be prosperous. He was one of the most beloved rulers of their country.
“Well… My family comes from that line… The same with the Liu’s… So all descendants of King Yuren and Queen Xianyi would all gather yearly to commemorate our great ancestors. That’s how I know the Old Madam Liu and how demanding she could be. She’s a real pain in the @zz, that’s for sure…” Gavin explained, and since it was still a while before their break ended, he ended up telling Thea everything he knew about the Old Madam.
Seeing Thea’s pale face, Gavin laughed and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll be here for you in case you need any help. I want you to contact me first and ask me for help if you hesitate to ask Jeru about it.”
Thea pursed her lips and wondered if she would be able to survive Jeru’s grandmother’s wrath after hearing Gavin’s story, but she was glad to have found another sincere friend like him.
She was now officially Mrs. Liu. Jeru would introduce her to his dad first once she felt comfortable enough for it. She was too nervous to do it soon and had managed to convince him that she would tell him as soon as she was ready.
Other than that, Jeru told her that it would be best to keep their marriage a secret from his grandmother, at least for now, and she agreed. Right now, she just wanted to enjoy her pregnancy and her life as Jeru’s wife before she would be confronted with another trial.
Her phone beeped and it was Chin sending her all the important details on Jeru’s father and grandmother. She wanted to know about them in advance so she could make an effort to please them somehow.
Her cheeks reddened when she read another message which was from Jeru…
[Do you think it would be possible to pick you up early from work? I want us to celebrate our wedding outside…]
There it goes again… The thumping of her heart. She smiled and typed her reply. Yes, she could leave work early.
There were butterflies in her stomach and she had accepted and acknowledged the fact that she was starting to like Jeru. She thought it was still too early to describe it as love, but she knew that she would also soon fall in that category. Especially if Jeru kept treating her the way he did now. He was always so kind and thoughtful toward her.
Jeru was definitely someone whom you could easily fall for…
______
Lyra had filed a leave from her work these past few days in order to tend to Torin well while he was still recuperating. Her mom would also check on him whenever she was in the City.
“Is there good news? By the way, what do you want me to cook for dinner?” Lyra asked. Torin just ended a phone call to the Military Base to ask about the status of the search operation for Zach and Keira.
Torin walked to Lyra and hugged her from behind as he kissed her neck and whispered, “No, no news yet. I’m really sad… I was hoping to hear that they had found them on an island, enjoying their alone time while perhaps practicing their outdoor survival ski||s so they could pick it up as a hobby or something…”
Lyra patted his back and sighed. She was also worried and was hoping that Keira and her brother were safe somehow. “I’m sure they will find them soon…”
Both of them were startled by the sound of the doorbell. Lyra’s eyes widened when she saw it was her mom. “Mom is here,” she said as she quickly composed herself and hurriedly racking her brain for a good excuse as to why she was at Torin’s place at that hour.
“Hi mom, what are you doing here?” asked Lyra as soon as she opened the door.
Sheila’s forehead crumpled, followed by a raised eyebrow as she asked, “What am I doing here? You tell me what you’re doing here at this hour?” Then she looked at Lyra from head to toe, who was wearing her everyday wear, a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. Then she added, “Don’t you have work?”
‘Yikes…’ Lyra hissed silently. She really h@??d lying to her wonderful mom.
“Oh, there was an event near here that I had to go to yesterday, so I decided to sleep at big Bro’s unit instead. It’s my day off today so I decided to check on bro Torin’s condition,” Lyra explained as she followed her mom who had walked passed her and called for Torin.
“I brought some of the dishes that you like,” Sheila said with a smile as she organized the lunch boxes and put some of them inside Torin’s refrigerator. She noticed Torin had a lot of stuff inside his refrigerator, including several bottles of orange juice. “You don’t like orange juice… Why do you have many stocked in here?”
Lyra’s face paled. She looked in panic at Torin who was scratching his head as he said, “The doctor advised me to drink fresh fruit juice, especially orange juice since it has a lot of vitamin C that can help me heal, Auntie…”
Lyra sighed inwardly when her mom nodded in agreement. “Isn’t it late, mom? I mean are you alone?” Lyra asked. “Josh dropped me off here and I will stay at Zach’s place, for now, so I can check on Torin too,” Sheila explained as she readied some snacks for Torin.
“What?!” Lyra burst out that made Sheila paused and looked at her daughter with suspecting eyes.
“What do you mean ‘WHAT’? Why do you look so surprised? Torin saved your brother so we must take care of him. I’ve been a little busy in the past few days to take care of him, but now I will stay here while waiting for news about Keira and your brother,” Sheila explained.
Then she added, “You also stay with me for a while at your brother’s place. So gather some of your things from your apartment and bring them to your brother’s place. I will wait for you here at Torin’s place.”
Lyra’s stomach clenched and her throat tightened at her mom’s words because all of her things were now in Torin’s guest room. She had permanently moved in with him after his return. She looked so perplexed and was startled when her mom spoke once more, “Are you alright, darling? You look a little bit out of sorts. Are you sick?”
Sheila touched her daughter’s cheeks and forehead and furrowed her eyebrows as she muttered, “Your temperature is okay. Do you want me to come with you to get your things?”
‘Oh, dear lord…!’ Lyra whined silently before she gathered herself and replied, “Uhm, no need, mom. I have enough clothes at big Bro’s place.”
“Oh, alright,” Sheila simply replied before she turned her head to talk to Torin. “How are you feeling, son?” she asked, her voice was full of concern. She was very grateful to Torin because he was a true brother to Zach. Maybe not by blood but by heart, so he was also a son to her.
Torin gave his future mother-in-law a warm smile as he unconsciously whispered, “I’m already feeling better, mother…”
Lyra’s jaw dropped while Sheila was looking at him with a puzzled look, confused if she heard it correctly. Not that she did not want Torin to call her ‘Mother’, but she was just used to him calling her ‘Auntie’.
Torin scratched his head and clarified, “Uhm, I actually thought of you as my mother, Auntie… So if you don’t mind, can I call you Mother or Mom, instead of Auntie?”
Sheila was taken aback by Torin’s sudden request. But she smiled and said, “Of course! Call me Mom like the rest of my children, since to me, you are also one of my sons.”
Torin was very happy to hear that, so he ignored Lyra’s deadly stare as he walked to hug Sheila. “Thank you, mom!” Torin exclaimed joyously while Sheila laughed and gently patted his back.
Lyra watched the apparently new pair of mother and son and could only bite her lip. Torin didn’t seem to care about the fact that she now had a big problem! A problem of how she could sneak some of her clothes from Torin’s guest room to her brother’s guest room. She frowned as she mused, ‘Maybe I should just tell mom about it already…’
______
Thea bid her farewell for the day to her colleagues as soon as she received Jeru’s message that he had arrived. Gavin was also going home, so he asked if they should go down to the parking lot together. Thea agreed, and the two of them had a quick chit chat during their elevator ride to the exit door of the building, which led them directly to the parking lot, where Jeru was already waiting.
“Alright, see you tomorrow and have a wonderful celebration with your husband tonight,” Gavin said with a wink before he hugged Thea and walked toward his car.
Thea looked around and saw Jeru’s car moving slowly toward her and stopped in front of her. Thea smiled and quickly opened the door. Jeru used to open the door for her at first, but she strongly opposed it because it was just a waste of seconds.
“How’s your work?” Thea asked while she was wearing her seatbelt. She looked at Jeru and noticed his expression was a bit hardened. She thought it was probably because of work, so she no longer repeated her question and remained quiet.
She sneaked a glance at him every now and then. ‘What’s with him? Did he have a rough day?’ she mused as she contemplated whether she should ask him where they were going.
The silence was ki||ing her, so she asked, “Hmm, where are we going?”
“We will have dinner outside, at this restaurant that my assistant recommended. He said it’s a nice place…” Jeru answered her plainly. Thea felt that something was odd with him. He was cold. She wanted to ask if something was bothering him, but she just bit her lip and chose to remain quiet.
She creased her forehead when she realized where they were going to have their dinner. It was the restaurant to which Leon wanted to bring her, but thankfully he never got the chance to do so. Her face became sour at the sudden ugly thought, but she quickly brushed it off. The restaurant was said to have men proposing to their girlfriends for marriage every week because it was one of the most romantic places at which people could dine.
They went inside, up to the 31st floor of one of the city’s most striking and unmissable buildings. Thea gasped in awe as they walked passed a charming spot on a patio overlooking the city just outside their private dining area. The private room which they would be dining in was a beautiful and spacious room, bathed in light, from the exquisite chandeliers hanging on its ceiling.
Thea also heard that the restaurant was home to serious culinary talent and stellar ingredients.
Jeru asked her what she would like. “Hmm, you can order for me… I’m not a picky eater,” she answered, smiling. She would want to know what Jeru would order for her.
After a few more minutes, appetizers were served, such as hand-dived scallops and rock oysters, then followed by fillet of beef and stuffed globe artichoke.
For desserts, he ordered lemon creme brulee and chocolate mousse.
“This place is very nice…” Thea commented while she drank her fresh juice since she was not allowed to drink wine.
Jeru did not respond so Thea finally asked, “Is there something wrong? Because I noticed you have been very quiet ever since we were in the car.”
Jeru looked at her directly as he casually said, “I don’t like to see another man hugging you like that. I don’t know why but I got irritated by it…”
“Huh?” Thea was confused. “Oh, did you mean Gavin? He is a close friend and my partner at work,” Thea explained with knitted eyebrows.
‘Is he perhaps jealous?’ she thought silently and suddenly felt happy at the possibility of Jeru being jealous of Gavin after seeing the latter hug her. If that was the case, wouldn’t it mean that he had feelings for her too?
“Alright. But other people might misunderstand, so it’s better if you’re more careful when it comes to interacting with the opposite segz. Avoid hugging like that as much as possible,” Jeru said with a straight face.
“Ohhh, okay…” Thea answered disappointedly. She thought wrong. Jeru was not jealous. He was just protecting both their image with the public. Her shoulders slumped. ‘Don’t expect anything, Thea!’ she scolded herself. She should practice that from now on, not to expect anything as grand as love, in order not to end up getting hurt in the process anymore.
She frowned and pouted her lips as she ate her dessert. ‘I thought we were going to celebrate? How come I ended up getting scolded?’ Thea wanted to voice it out.
Meanwhile, Jeru could not help but scold himself for being a ki||joy at a time like this. He wanted Thea to enjoy their dinner together, but he could not stop himself from bringing up the hug he witnessed a while ago. He was annoyed by that sight, and he didn’t even know himself why.
He thought that maybe it was because he was the possessive type of person. That was given with the kind of upbringing that he had. But if that was indeed the case, then he knew that he should control it and try to look at things more from Thea’s perspective.
He let out a long deep sigh and looked at Thea who was now frowning and had her lips pouted. He smiled, unconsciously at her facial expression. She was obviously irritated, and yet he found her angry face while she was eating her desert striking and stunning at the same time.
Thea saw him grin, so she arched a brow and asked, “What? What’s so funny?” Jeru coughed and cleared his throat before he answered, “Nothing… You look cute with those pouty lips and a crumpled face…”
Thea blushed, but she couldn’t help to express the grievance that she was having. So she retorted, “Are you the one who’s pregnant? Because you surely have a heck of a mood swing! You were cold just a while ago, scolding me and wh@??ver, and now you’re grinning like that? What in the world…”
Jeru could not help but throw a fit of laughter at Thea’s words. Well, she was right because he was also annoyed with his mood swings.
Thea, realizing the situation had also started laughing. The two of them were both awkwardly moody…