Seeking Sabina (Completed)

Chapter XXIII: Blissful No More

The whole month of January kept the couple, Timothy and Sabina busy. They started to look for a church with close proximity to a beach. They wanted a wedding reception in a shoreline with pristine water, white sand and a setting sun in the horizon.

A beach wedding would be more suitable for their taste but Sabina's upbringing urged her to have a church wedding. As a little girl she always dreamt of walking down a long aisle inside an old church. Something inside her wanted a solemn wedding ceremony.

After their engagement, Timothy completely moved in with Sabina. At first, the young man wanted to purchase a new penthouse for his future wife so he could ask her to moved in with him. But the biologist found it impractical and ridiculous. Instead, she asked him to just moved in with her and saved his money for their dream house.

It was a Thursday afternoon and Sabina was preparing for a dinner with one of her twin older brothers, Jacob. The other night, she called her abuela and asked for her brother's contact number and this initiative from the young woman delighted the Dela Vega matriarch a great deal.

The young biologist was a bit anxious about their impending dinner but she knew that she needed to do this. She wanted his future husband to meet her family and to be able to do that, she had to reconnect and reconcile with her roots.

"Ready?" She heard Timothy's voice. She looked up and smiled at her fiancé awkwardly.

"Is it okay if I do this alone?" She asked tentatively.

The young man in front of her was a bit perplexed but he nodded his head slowly. It was originally planned that he'll join the siblings for dinner so this sudden change of plan left him confused.

"Okay. I'll dropped you at the hotel lobby and will fetch you after, anyways I still have important things to discussed with TJ." He lied to unload Sabina of the guilt he saw crossed on her expressive eyes. The Dela Vega siblings were scheduled to have dinner at The Heat, a buffet restaurant inside Edsa Shangri-La hotel.

He heard her sighed in relief. "Thank you, mahal." She whispered gratefully.
Inwardly, Timothy tried to rationalize Sabina's behavior and blamed them to the great fall out she had with her family.

Maybe she wanted to talk about the trouble with the family and it will be all awkward me being there. The young heir thought.

∞∞∞

As soon as Sabina stepped inside the premise of the Heat, she was readily ushered to her brother's table. Atty. Jose Jacobo Dela Vega was already waiting for half an hour before her panting sister came.

"I'm so, so, sorry Jacob, the traffic is really bad in Makati area." She apologized breathlessly.

The lawyer just waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "It's all right, Sab. Take a deep breath." The older Dela Vega sibling muttered as he stood up to pull a chair for his sister.

The young biologist gave her brother an awkward hug and a timid smile as she sat down nonchalantly.

Jacob pushed a glass of cold water to his little sister's direction and studied her appearance. He noted that she appeared well, in fact she looked happy and content. Her usual sad eyes were now smiling and there's this certain aura around her that showed genuine happiness.

After the young woman finished her water, they decided to eat so they both stood up to get their food.

The siblings both opted for Japanese feast, Shoyu Ramen, gyoza, sushi and Donburi. The older man let his sibling enjoyed her meal while he watched her patiently.