LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT - SEASON 2 CHAPTER 67
“Are you alright?” Thea asked a bit alarmed when she saw dark circles under Jeru’s eyes during their breakfast. He seemed to be deprived of sleep.
‘He must be worried about Keira,’ she thought. “I’m sure Keira is safe. She’s with Zach, and he won’t let anything happen to her. Leon’s body had multiple gunshot wounds on it, and I’m quite sure it was Zach who put them there,” she comforted him.
Jeru sighed and unconsciously nodded in acknowledgment. He continued to eat, but then paused and murmured, “Don’t mind me. I’m just exhausted from work. I left a lot of projects hanging when I was away.”
‘Liar!’ his inner thought chided.
Yes, he was lying. The real reason for his sleepless nights was Thea’s words in the morning of the day they registered their marriage.
“About my duties to you, as a wife… I really don’t mind to do it. I mean, all of it…”
Those words had been haunting him in the past few days. He even replayed the CCTV footage to check if he heard it right.
For sure, he heard it well. And if he understood what Thea meant correctly, she had given him the ‘go-ahead’ signal.
Jeru stole glances at Thea every now and then. He would really like to confirm his assumption and make sure they were on the same page because he did not want any misunderstandings between them. But he didn’t really know how to bring it up.
She said ‘all of it.’ So would it include being intimate as a couple?
‘But what if it’s not what she meant?’ he doubted.
They were now officially husband and wife and Thea had been an excellent wife to him. She would attend to all his needs by primarily taking care of his meals, clothes, and some other stuff as well. She had been fulfilling all of his needs except for one…
Jeru sighed. He and Thea were still sleeping separately. He was hesitant to suggest that they share the same room or to act to his liking because he did not want Thea to think of him as someone who was taking advantage of her situation.
‘If I suggest that she sleeps in my room, how would she react?’ he wondered, and another sigh escaped his mouth without him even knowing.
Little that Jeru knew, Thea was observing his every movement. ‘What’s with him?’ She puzzled. She noticed his glances at her. It was as though he wanted to say something to her but stopped himself because he had qualms about it.
Well, she couldn’t force him to say it, but she, too, had something to say…
Thea straightened her back as she spoke, “By the way, I’m thinking of transferring my things to your room if you don’t mind. So we can sleep in one room. I mean… That’s the proper way to do things, right? We are already married, so it’s not normal to sleep separately. But, if you are not comfortable with it, it’s also okay to continue the current set-up. You might want your priva…”
“No, not at all! I don’t mind at all… Yes, you can do wh@??ver you like, and I really don’t mind,” Jeru quickly cut in before Thea could even finish her last sentence.
Though taken aback by Jeru’s sudden interruption, Thea immediately concurred, “Oh, alright then. I’ll transfer my things soon, maybe on my day-off this weekend…”
Although it looked like she was just casually mentioning it to Jeru, but she was actually very nervous when she said it. But she knew that she should at least give it a shot.
Gavin encouraged her to follow her heart, to listen to wh@??ver it was telling her before it was too late. He told her to do things that she really wanted to do without any hesitation. She should express herself freely because regret always came late.
It took her a lot of courage to take the initiative for raising the matter about them sharing the same room to Jeru. She had waited for him to mention it first, but he never did. She was worried that he would not prefer it since Jeru seemed like a person who really valued his privacy.
But when she mentioned this to Gavin, his only answer was that she would never know if she didn’t at least try. And now that she had tried and succeeded, she was bursting with joy and just wanted to squeal loudly. She was really thankful to Gavin for his encouragement and glad that she followed his advice.
As usual, after breakfast, Jeru would drop Thea off at her work first before heading to his own office.
As soon as Thea went out of the car, Jeru called his assistant.
“Renovate my room immediately. Make it bigger. Connect it to the vacant guest room next to it to make more space for Thea’s stuff. And decorate the room according to the design she prefers,” Jeru instructed.
Then he added, “Make sure they finish it as fast as they can…”
He smiled as sunshine flooded his soul. ‘You used to h@?? it when someone invaded your privacy, right?’ he mocked himself.
Because it was true. All throughout his military training, the thing Jeru h@??d the most was sleeping with all the other soldiers. He preferred to sleep alone and h@??d to share his stuff with others. Was he changing now? Because it definitely looked like it. He could not explain why, but he was looking forward to Thea invading his privacy.
The sooner, the better…
_____
Keira held a four-pronged fishing spear that Zach crafted from bamboo, so she could catch fish easily.
“Why is this so hard?” she hissed. Zach told her that it would be easier to catch fish with the pronged spear instead of a single spear, and it indeed looked so effortless when he demonstrated how to do it. But now that she was trying it herself, she looked so funny as she kept tripping and stumbling in the water.
Thankfully, Zach was not around to witness how silly and amateurish she looked at that moment. Otherwise, she would surely receive a lot of teasing from her dearest perfect-in-everything husband.
Oh, but she really was lucky that she got stranded with the best man in the world. Apart from the luxurious comfort that she was used to back home, ever since they arrived on the island, Keira had never once felt that she was deprived of life’s basic necessities at all. Zach had made sure that she got everything that she needed.
Keira shook her head to concentrate, and her eyes narrowed at a shallow part of the water. There were a lot of fish to catch, but the problem was they just swam too fast! Or maybe it was not them? Perhaps she was the problem because she was too slow?
Zach left her alone on the beach as he continued to work on their new shelter inside the jungle. Keira no longer contested after seeing how terrified her husband was with the snake incident. She did not want Zach to worry for her like that. It was the last thing she wanted him to feel.
“Oho… You fish are so lucky you can swim fast!” She jeered as she tried hard to capture just one of them, but failed every time. As a matter of fact, Keira, too, was good at throwing daggers and knives. She had been practicing using Leon’s pictures during the special ops qualification course.
But unfortunately, her practice target was always that of a steady one, and not a moving one.
But of course, she would not be the Keira Lim-Chan that was well-known for her persistence and determination if she were to give up now. Not a chance. Keira would not stop until she caught at least one fish.
“Please, fish… Let me catch at least one of you before my husband returns…” Keira pleaded as if the fish would understand her. She reddened in embarrassment as she recalled how boastful she was to Zach before he left. She told him that it would be too easy of a job for her and that he would see a lot of fish once he returned.
It took her a few more hours when finally, “Wowwww!!! Oh yeah!!!” Keira whooped and danced crazily because of the one fish that she had just caught. “Oh, but I need more…:” she mumbled as she tried to capture more.
After a while, she managed to catch more fish. She was now preparing them like how Zach taught her. She cringed as she cleaned them because of the slimy feel. “Ewww,” Keira murmured while removing the inner organs. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined herself doing this. But she was delighted with what she had achieved that day.
If her mom had seen this, she would have definitely been proud of her. She laughed at the thought of how funny her mom’s expression would be… But then tears suddenly ran down her cheeks. Keira burst out crying at the thought of her mom, whom she was missing so much.
After letting out her sorrow for a bit, she wiped her tears and gathered herself. She must remain strong now. Not only for herself but for her husband too.
She was curious to see how Zach was doing. “I should bring him lunch!” she squealed at her brilliant idea. Keira rushed herself to prepare the fire to grill the fish. She was humming as she thought of some recreational activities she and Zach could do once their new shelter was built.
As soon as Keira was done, she made her way to the new shelter Zach was building. Zach had cleared the path to it so she would not get lost and it would be easier to walk on. He had also put up some wood alternately by the track, every three meters apart.
She giggled at Zach’s defense pose when he was alerted by a presence… Which was hers…
Zach sighed, seeing it was only his wife. “Why are you here?” He asked.
Keira smiled at him and said, “Well, isn’t it obvious with what I am holding? It’s lunchtime, so I brought you food…”
She sat on a pile of branches and gestured for Zach to sit beside her. As expected, he was sweating all over, and she brought a cloth to wipe him dry. His hands were all dirty, and he was about to get up to wash up at the waterfall, but Keira stopped him.
“Don’t bother to walk there, don’t waste energy. I’ll just feed you,” Keira said with a wink as she started to debone the fish and feed Zach with her bare hands.
“How come the fish tastes particularly delicious this time?” Zach said grinning. He was teasing her because she was using her hand to feed him.
She blushed and giggled, “Because I caught it myself and cooked it with love?”
Zach laughed and opened his mouth for another bite, “Ahhh….” Keira joyfully obliged and fed him more, but Zach was in a playful mood. He bit her finger and intentionally licked it. Keira’s eyes rounded as she scolded him, “What the heck, General Lim!? I am off-limit for a week!”
Zach’s raised a brow as he answered, “What are you thinking, Mrs. Lim? Why are you so full of perverted thoughts? It’s the fish, okay? The taste of the fish is so yummy. It’s finger-licking good yummy…”
Keira burst into a fit of laughter at her husband’s witty retort. Zach laughed too, but soon murmured, “d@mn, I almost forgot that I’ll be put on a diet for a week.”
* * * * * * * * * *
“Why is he often here?” Whispered Riley after John left their safe house as soon as his shift to monitor Zach’s signal was up.
Cobra shrugged his shoulders and said, “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.”
“What? He has an enemy? In here? Who? You?” Riley cluelessly asked, to which Cobra rolled his eyes. “Me?!” Riley blurted as he twisted his mouth.
Cobra scratched his head as he stated, “Well, maybe not enemies. I think rivals is the right word…”
Cobra saw Riley appear to be buried in thoughts and he sighed, “He finally got it. Thank God…”
But then Riley opened his mouth and asked, “Oh right, maybe he thought I’m a rival because I want to become a bodyguard too, just like him. Right? Wait, is there also a competition for that line of work?”
Cobra’s jaws dropped. He did not respond and just left while rubbing his face impatiently. He grumbled, “Just how dense could this kid be? Geez…”
Meanwhile, John was also lost in thoughts. Riley seemed like a genuine and kind person. But of course, he would not raise a white flag without putting up a fight.
He was contemplating how he should start to approach May and confess his true feelings to her. It was okay that she didn’t know about it before because she was too busy with her studies and career. But the situation was different now with Riley’s appearance. John knew that he should make his move soon.
He took out his mobile phone as he walked in the hallway, but then sighed and put it back in his pocket. He can’t confess his feelings now because he was very busy with work. So, he would keep an eye on Riley instead. Those two were not allowed to leave the military base anytime soon anyway, and that would buy him some time.
………
“How long will she stay overseas?” Jeru asked his father. He was hesitant to inquire about his grandmother’s schedule from her secretary because he knew his grandmother would find out. And when she found out that he had requested information about her, she would get suspicious and start asking questions.
“At least one month, from what I know. It’s an important project, so she wanted to oversee it directly,” Jeru’s father answered while reading the newspaper.
“Why? Do you want her to stay there longer?” Senior Liu asked with a grin on his face.
Both father and son felt more at ease whenever Old Madam Liu was not around.
Jeru coughed and cleared his throat. He had already informed his father about his marriage to Thea. And as expected, his dad was utterly floored, since he had never heard anything about him dating her.
Jeru was grateful that his dad did not prod any further about the details, but he did inform him of the part in which he would soon become a grandfather.
“I only see her on television, but I have a good impression of her. She is good at anchoring and beautiful too. But you know how meddlesome and overbearing your grandmother can be. Every single detail about your wife will be investigated, Jeru,” his father warned him.
“Yes, I understand. I already talked to Thea about it. We will visit you in the weekend, so you can meet her personally, dad,” said Jeru with an assuring smile.
“Alright, I will clear my schedule then. If you need anything, you know I’m always here for you, right, son?” Senior Liu said with a smile.
Jeru smiled wistfully and replied, “Even if you’ll have to go against grandmother?” He knew his father well. He was probably the most doting son in the whole world. His father had never failed to do as his grandmother wished.
“Yes, of course, I’ll back you up. But let’s do it low-key?” Senior Liu chortled, to which Jeru’s heart cheered.
But then Senior Liu’s expression suddenly turned solemn as he asked, “By the way, how is the search for General Zacharias Lim and his wife, Keira?”
Jeru creased his forehead before answering, “Still no update, dad… Right now, we’re waiting for the result from forensics to identify the second body that was found ashore. It was hard to recognize his face, and some parts of his body were also missing. We believed the sharks have feasted on them.”
Lately, his father seemed to be often asking about the status of the search for Zach and Keira. He found this unusually strange because although the Chans and their family knew each other, but they were not particularly close with each other.
Senior Liu noticed Jeru’s questioning eyes, and carefully explained, “It’s just that I feel bad, son. I heard he is a good and loyal soldier, and I also feel bad for Field Marshal Chan and his wife. Keira is their only daughter.”
“Do you think grandma had seen it on the news?” Jeru suddenly asked, out of curiosity.
“Hmmm… You mean about Keira missing? Maybe yes, maybe not. Who knows? No one can predict what’s in your grandma’s head, except for herself. Not even me, you see,” Senior Liu replied to which Jeru nodded in agreement. His grandmother was indeed unpredictable most of the time. It was as though she had multiple personalities, and knew how to use each of those personalities to her own advantage.
And she was really scary that way…
“Maybe, she was not aware of it yet, since I haven’t had her bugging me for being an incompetent grandson,” Jeru concluded with a grin on his face, to which Senior Liu responded with a roar of laughter.
“Because you lost her to General Lim? Haha, don’t worry, son, she would bug you soon, so brace yourself…” Senior Liu warned him with a warm smile.
He would, of course, back his son up no matter what happened because he did not want his son to end up like him. His son should at least live the life that he wanted.