LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT - SEASON 2 CHAPTER 89
“That’s good then. Make sure they hit rock bottom! I want them to crawl back to the slums, where they belong! How dare that General took away what’s supposed to be my grandson’s!?” Hissed Old Madam Liu into the phone. Senior Liu accidentally heard it when he entered her office.
“What are you doing, mother?” Senior Liu asked in disbelief, sincerely hoping he heard it wrong.
“What?!” Old Madam Liu challenged him with an arched eyebrow.
Then she added, “You and your son are both weak… Letting that General get away with everything, as though he didn’t do anything wrong. He stole the Chans’s daughter away from us and ruined my plan!”
“Mother!” Senior Liu shouted so loudly that it startled his mother. He scowled at her as his face reddened in rage. Old Madam Liu had never seen her son act like this before.
“What!? Why are you acting like this!?” She hissed.
Senior Liu tried his best to regain his composure. For a few minutes, there was only silence.
He let out a long sigh before he walked over to his mother’s desk and dialed his secretary’s number, “Bring me all the reports on General Lim…”
Old Madam Liu’s brows knitted when she heard it. She asked, “Why would you show me his files? I’m not interested in his details. I’m only interested in crushing him for getting in my way!
Senior Liu laughed scornfully as he jeered, “Check his details first before you go on with your plan, mother. And tell me afterward if you still want to crush him. I actually wanted to keep this from you, seeing the two of them are at peace now, living a happy and contented life. But I guess this was what’s supposed to happen. Because of your constant prying…”
“Cut the crap Thom, you know I h@?? vague words like that! What are you trying to say?!” Old Madam Liu snarled.
At that moment, Senior Liu’s secretary arrived with the documents Senior Liu asked him to bring. Senior Liu took them from him and show them to his mother.
Old Madam Liu reluctantly took the documents from her son and looked into them. The more she read, the more her eyes widened. After reading everything, her knees weakened, and she almost fell onto the floor but was caught quickly by her son.
…….
Thea finished preparing dinner early. She hoped to finally meet Old Madam Liu and have dinner with her this time. Ever since her arrival at Liu’s ancestral mansion, she often had her dinner alone because both Jeru and his grandmother were busy at work and would only return home very late at night when she was already asleep.
But Jeru returned home earlier tonight than Thea expected. She greeted him and asked, “You’re alone?”
Jeru nodded and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “Grandma has a busy week… She’ll come home late often,” He explained.
“Alright. I’m sure you’re hungry. Dinner is ready, so let’s eat first.” Said Thea smiling as she pulled her husband to the dining table.
“Are you sure you don’t want a wedding ceremony? We can have it if you want…” Jeru suggested. Zach and Keira’s wedding ceremony was tomorrow. He felt terrible that Thea did not get the chance to experience something similar.
Thea winked at him and said, “No, it’s okay. We’re married, legally and lawfully, and that’s enough for me.”
Deep in her heart, Thea actually would also want a proper wedding ceremony, since it’s every woman’s dream. However, their situation was different and quite complicated. It wouldn’t be wise to have a grand wedding ceremony like Zach and Keira.
After dinner, the couple walked back to their room, when Thea noticed a covered frame that she assumed to be a big painting.
“What’s that?” Thea asked as she pointed with her finger.
“Oh, that’s an old family portrait of the Liu Family way before I was born. You probably wondered why they had it covered?” Jeru asked.
He continued, “I’m not too sure, but dad told me that grandma wanted to keep it there because she wanted to keep the memory. But dad wanted to forget, so Grandma had it covered. Dad didn’t want to reveal anything more than that. I guess it was not a good memory for him. Weird, right? I don’t know the whole story. It happened before I was born. All I know was that it is a family portrait of grandma and her two sons.”
“You have an uncle?” Thea asked, surprised. She thought Senior Liu was an only child.
Jeru nodded and said, “Yes, but he died before I was born. So I never met him. I haven’t seen that portrait either. I don’t want to hurt dad.”
That was true. Jeru didn’t know anything about his deceased uncle. He only knew that his uncle was the older one of the two siblings…
_____
“You look so lovely, sweetheart…” Mrs. Chan squealed as she looked lovingly at her daughter. They were sitting in the bridal room as they waited for the ceremony to begin.
“Yes, you are, sweetheart. No matter how old you are, no matter that you have become someone’s wife now and are about to be a mother, you’ll always be my little princess…” Field Marshal Chan said as he gave his daughter a warm smile.
“Aw… Look at her, dear… Isn’t our daughter so beautiful? Look at your waist, sweetheart… How can it still be so slim even though you’re almost in your second trimester now? You still look segzy… My son-in-law is definitely lucky,” Mrs. Chan couldn’t stop squealing at her daughter’s beauty. She was just so proud of her.
“Of course she is. Isn’t it obvious given we are her parents?” Field Marshal Chan jested and laughed, but his face was beaming with pride.
The daughter and parent’s dramatic moment was interrupted by the wedding planner who walked in the waiting room to tell them that the ceremony would now start. Keira stood up and was assisted by Lana and May, who proceeded to follow her from behind, to take care of the striking four-and-a-half-meter circular train on her wedding dress.
Keira was dressed in an elegant and ethereal off-white silk dress with a vintage lace high neckline and three-quarter-length sleeves. She also wore a wedding veil with a diamond tiara as a headpiece. She looked like a royal princess.
Then the ceremony began…
Keira made an absolutely stunning entrance, accompanied by her proud father, who walked her down the aisle.
“Wow,” the guests marveled at her appeal. Her face glowed with bliss as she walked gracefully toward her waiting husband at the altar.
Zach looked very handsome in his full dress uniform of the General of the Army, and his gaze never left his wife, from the moment she entered the church hall.
Throughout the ceremony, the couple would steal romantic glances as the officiant was saying his opening remark, “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join Zacharias Lim and Keira Lim-Chan in matrimony…”
After the officiant was done with his opening remark, he gave the bride and groom a counsel, to remind them of the meaningfulness of the vows they were about to exchange and the journey they were about to embark upon together.
Then came the exchanging of vows…
Keira smiled lovingly at her husband as she said her vows, “You are the love of my life, the guidance of my soul, and my true partner. I fell for you at first sight, but falling for you wasn’t like falling at all. It happened quickly, but it was like walking into a house, and suddenly, I just knew that you’re my home.”
But then she paused a bit and gave Zach an apologetic smile, “I’m sorry, it’s quite long, and I actually memorized it but then…”
The crowd laughed, including Zach. Keira cleared her throat and smiled shyly as she continued, “Wherever our journey leads us, I promise that you will never walk alone. I promise I will love you, cherish you, respect you, cheer you on, dream with you, build your dreams with you. Every single day, for as long as I live.”
Keira finished her vow and smiled at Zach sweetly, who was staring at her lovingly.
It was now Zach’s turn to say his vows. He stared directly into Keira’s eyes, his gaze never left her even for a second. He started his pledge, “It is clear to me now that everything in my life has led me to you – I think back on all my choices and consider even the bad ones blessed, because if I had done even one thing differently, I might never have met you and become your husband.”
He paused to give Keira his most loving and tender smile as he continued, “I am a fulfilled person, and I would not ask for more because I have been granted my most precious wish… I’ve married the love of my life. My star, I promise you my everlasting devotion. I promise that I will always put you first above others. I promise I will always protect you. Forever. Until time ends. I love you so much.”
Then he immediately planted a loving kiss on Keira’s lips without even waiting for the officiant’s signal, which made the crowd roar in laughter. The officiant quickly declared them as husband and wife, and the crowd clapped their hands, still laughing, cheering the groom on.
The maids of honor, Lana and May, carried Keira’s spectacular train as she moved for the wedding pictures. Smiles all around, Keira and Zach were joined by their family and guests for the photographs.
Walking down from the altar, the newlyweds were greeted with a military salute by the groom’s soldiers, as well as cheers from the guests.
………..
“Mother, where are you?” Senior Liu talked into the phone, his heart racing. He was worried when he heard from his mother’s assistant that she had been staying at the office all night and refused to talk to anybody.
He also discovered that his mother had rushed out of the office this morning, as soon as she found out where General Zacharias Lim was.
“I want to see him! Why did you hide it from me?! I need to see him, Thom!” Old Madam Liu urged as she turned off her mobile phone. Last night, she did not sleep at all. She spent the whole night checking each and every detail of Zach. She verified everything and found out the truth.
How could something like this happen without her knowing? She clenched her fists as she instructed her driver to drive faster. All those years… Had she only known…
____
Old Madam Liu could not believe it all. She thought that woman had died in that accident with Charles, her most precious eldest son, her real son…
Yes, Thom was not her direct bloodline. He was her husband’s son from his mistress. So Jeru, although a real Liu, was not her biological grandson at all.
She looked at the photo in her hand, and heaviness filled her heart. How had she missed something so significant like this? She had never even bothered to check how the man named Zacharias Lim looked like and just instructed her people to ruin him. She almost destroyed her own blood.
If she had taken the time to see even a single photograph of him, she would have seen the significant similarities in his facial features.
She tried to compose herself…
Old Madam Liu arrived at the venue and immediately went out of the car with her body still shaking. She could no longer wait to see Zach, and she did not care where… As long as she could see him.
The wedding ceremony seemed to have ended as she saw some of the guests were already outside, leaving the church.
Some even recognized her and greeted her, but she was too beside herself to even notice. All she wanted was to see Zach. To see her only grandson, Charlie’s son.
“Grandma?” Asked Jeru, who saw her walking toward the altar. But Old Madam Liu just passed him by and walked straight toward the direction where Zach was standing, smiling broadly at his wife.
Thea and the other guests seemed to have noticed Old Madam Liu’s arrival as well. They started to whisper to each other about how distraught the old madam looked.
Sheila turned around when she heard a commotion behind her. Her heart lurched as soon as she saw Old Madam Liu walking toward her son. The color drained from her face as resentment flowed through her. Her knees weakened, and she almost lost her balance if not for Josh, who quickly held her.
“What are you doing here!? How did you!?” Sheila shouted, her voice shaking.
“How is it that you’re alive!? And how could you hide my grandson from me!?” Old Madam Liu shouted back at her. Her eyes were teary as she fought the chaos of her rage. She remembered that night of the accident… The car in which her son, Charles, and Sheila had crashed into construction work. The doctors had pronounced both of them dead on arrival.
But then Old Madam Liu didn’t feel like talking to Sheila any longer. Her only goal of going there was to see her grandson.
“Oh God, you look so much like your father… Oh, God, my grandson… My precious grandson!” Old Madam Liu burst out crying, while she clung onto Zach, her hands cupping his face, and her eyes flooded with tears. She hugged Zach, who was enormously astonished with what was going on, he was frozen still in his spot, like a statue.
“My grandson!” Old Madam Liu kept on mumbling over and over again. Field Marshal Chan quickly dismissed the reporters and signal all the other guests to head toward the reception hall where the wedding party would be held. Only the closest friends and family of the bride and groom were left behind in the church hall.
Zach was still in shock when he saw his mother walking toward them, staggering. “No! Get off of him! Zach is not your grandson! Please leave us alone…” Sheila yelled frantically as she tried to pull Zach away from Old Madam Liu’s embrace.
“No! He is my grandson! He is Charlie’s son! You have no right to keep him from me! He’s my family!” Shouted Old Madam Liu in rage.
Everyone who witnessed everything inside the church had their jaw dropped as they were too dumbfounded at the scene before their eyes.
“Zach is your cousin?” Thea asked Jeru as her eyes went round.
“I have no idea…” Jeru replied with his brows knitted and quickly dialed his father’s number. Senior Liu had already arrived at the church and ran inside by that time.
“Mother, let’s go home first and talk…” Senior Liu said as he grabbed his mother’s arm, trying to pull her away from Zach. His eyes met Sheila’s eyes, and he looked away quickly. He had no right to meet those eyes. “I’m sorry…” that was the only thing Senior Liu could murmur.
Old Madam Liu’s ears burned hearing it, and she hissed scornfully, “Sorry!? Why would you say sorry to this woman!? She has been hiding your nephew’s existence from us!”
Then Old Madam Liu’s breathing seemed to have quickened uncontrollably as she clutched onto her chest.
“Mother!” Senior Liu shouted when Old Madam Liu finally passed out, but Zach had caught her in his arms.
Jeru immediately called for an ambulance to come. He then walked toward Zach and took his grandmother over from him. “Let me… I got her. You have a lot to digest.”
Keira, who kept silent all this while, took her husband’s hand and led him to sit on a nearby chair. She sat next to him, still keeping mum, but she never let his hand go. The revelation was too unexpected… Everyone was in shock, especially Zach…
The ambulance arrived, and the Liu’s left with it. Keira sighed and looked at Zach’s mother, who was still crying and being comforted by Grandma Terry. Then she looked at her parents, signaling them to go to the reception hall to entertain their guests.
After what seemed to be an eternity of silence, Zach finally spoke, “Mom, I want to know what happened… Why did she say I’m her grandson? Tell me everything. I need to know the truth…”
Sheila looked at her mother, who nodded and said, “Your son deserves to know the truth…”
Sheila let out a deep long sigh as she looked intently at Zach. It was true… no secret could remain hidden forever…