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.
He missed seeing her like this. This was their second meal together, since she left home almost a decade ago. The first one was at the superstore with the kind Sebastian lad.
Halfway through her meal, Sabina lifted her face and caught her brother watching her keenly. She offered her a kind smile as she wiped her mouth with her table napkin. "How are you?" She asked.
The man across her smiled back, thinking on how to answer his little sister's question. After a few seconds, he chose to reply safely.
"I'm okay, still in charge with the family business. I'm doing the hotel and transportation business while Anton took over the tobacco plantation. But last year I started to venture out in real estate and aviation business in Singapore and I found them really good." He replied.
The young woman's angelic face dropped. She was hoping for a more personal response like news about the family, the state of everybody's health or even some stories about her nieces and nephews.
Being observant, the male Dela Vega readily sensed Sabin's mood change so he redirected the flow of his words towards their family. Glad to realized that his sister wanted to hear more about the family than other safe topics.
"But Papa is doing good, would you believe that he enjoys playing golf now?" The middle-aged lawyer chuckled when he saw her sister perked up.
"And abuela is still sharp and healthy although she misses you terribly." He stated as he weighed his next query.
"Sabina, don't you think it's about time to go back home now?" It was out before he could control his mouth.
"Not yet. How's Anton?" She asked simply.
A dark cloud crossed Jacob's face but it vanished immediately. "You wouldn't believe it but Anton have changed a lot. When mama died we eventually became closer and even though he didn't talk about you, I could feel that he misses you too and he's remorseful of all the things he did and said." The middle-aged lawyer quipped.
Sabina Dela Vega nodded her head but still her mind was full of skepticism and uncertainties. Anton was like her mother abusive and cruel. And hearing all this from her kind brother was truly a bit of a news for her.
"Do you think they have forgiven me? I mean for running away." She asked still overwhelmed with Jacob's news.
The man in question inhaled deeply before replying. "Sabina, honestly I don't know if they have forgiven you for running away but I'm sure of one thing, they understand now why you chose to run away from us."
"I'm aware that papa knew something, I could feel that and I can't blame him if he chose to do an investigation of his own." The kind man added.
"Investigation of his own?" She asked unbelievably.
"What am I, a fugitive?" Her tone was one of hurt and pissed.
Immediately, her brother raised both his hands defensively. "No, no! You got me wrong. Papa wanted to know that you're safe and in excellent living condition. You're his only daughter, you do really think that he'll neglect and take you for granted just like that?" He asked.
The young woman shook her head. "No but I don't think he'll see me as me again after what happened to mama." She confessed.
Little by little, Sabina was disclosing all her fears and uncertainties about her past. She wanted to know everything that had happened after she went away. These things were all kept from her by her grandmother, thinking that these things will just stress her out.
"After mama died, nobody but Anton blamed you. Papa told us that mama's physician had advised her to go on medication and lifestyle change but she took it for granted. It was unavoidable according to our family doctor so please Sab, stop blaming yourself." Jacob explained patiently.
Upon hearing this, the young woman sighed in relief. A small smile emerged from her lips and she felt lighter. "But still there's Anton and the young man." She muttered while some of the heaviness returned on her chest.
The older man reached for his sister's hand on top of the table. He squeezed them gently. "He will heal in time. Maybe you are right, we will give him more time but please let me discuss this to papa. He needs to know that we had reconnected. Please..." The middle-aged lawyer pleaded.
"I don't know! Do you really think he had forgiven me?" She queried in a dubious tone.
Her brother stroked her hands. "He loves you! He may not be affectionate and showy but I know he loves you. In fact, he was against mama's plan from the beginning but later on, she was able to convinced him."
For a few long minutes, Sabina paused. She was having thoughts on Jacob's preposition.
"Please, Sab. This will make papa happy. I know he misses you but I will let you act in your own pace. Meet him or visit him whenever you are ready. It's about time to take you place again." The older Dela Vega continued to persuade his sister.
"Okay, you can tell papa but you can't tell Anton. I don't think, he had forgiven me yet." At last, she gave in. This earned a huge smile from Jacob.
The middle-aged lawyer was ready to switch in a more happy topics but he Sabina's face dropped. "Hey, is there a problem?" He pried, a little worried.
The woman raised her eyes. "The young man?" She asked. Three simple words but this brought her endless guilt.
"How many times do I have to tell you that it's not your fault. You did what you can, right?" Jacob rubbed his sister's hand again.
The young woman's only response was a slow nod and her eyes began to tear up. Immediately, she tried to calm herself down by breathing deeply.
The middle-aged man across her stood up and sat down closer to her. He put his arms around the young biologist's shoulder to comfort her. "Let it go, Sab. You can't do anything about it. He's already gone and it's time for you to forgive yourself. Bear in mind that it's not your fault." He pulled her closer and gave her a one arm hug.
From the corner of the huge place, flashes from a lone camera went on and off for several times. But due to the brightness of the place the flashes remain unnoticed.
"Sabina, I need you to know something but please don't be mad, okay?" The older man stated, suddenly feeling nervous. He knew what a spitfire the woman in his arms was.
Her sister quirked her perfectly shaped brows, silently asking him to go on and tell her.
"I own the thousand Willows." The man winced, waiting for his little sister to explode but all he heard was a cute giggle.
"I knew it! And let me guess, Bart and Alfred are your eyes and ears." The giggling woman added.
Atty. Dela Vega nodded as he breath out a great sigh of relief. "You're not angry?" He asked totally perplexed.
The petite lady just shook her head. "You care for me deeply that's why you did that. Let's just say that when Timothy and I started dating, I learn to understand things that people do for love. Whether it's philial love or the romantic kind." She declared understandingly.
"But you should know that the penthouse is really too big for me." Sabina Dela Vega whined.
Her older brother chuckled. "I have it designed according to your likings, everything from the flooring to the lightings. And it's not the prestige or luxury, Sab. It's for your security and privacy." He disclosed.
"Did you notice that you have to pin in a security code at the elevator to gain access to the penthouse? The middle-aged lawyer asked and the young woman nodded her head. In fact, only her close friends knew the code.
"I did it for security purposes against the Sanchez lad, your creepy stalker." He added.
Sabina covered her mouth in shock. "You knew him?" She asked as her imagination began to overdrive.
Jacob nodded his head in admission. "Yes and you don't have to worry about him. I took care of him months ago. Let's just say that from now on, he will never bother you again." His voice hard and proud.
"So he knew my true identity? He knew who I really am?" The young woman started to worry since she hasn't told Timothy about her origin and true parentage.
Another nod came from her brother. "But don't fret, I have an ace against him. He will keep his mouth shut, I made sure of that." He readily reassured her.
"But how? What did you do?" She asked, a little disappointed with what his brother was trying to imply.
Being her brother, Jacob guessed what was running inside her head. "Hey, it has to be done. He's not trustworthy so I have to devised a way so that he'll give me his words. No worries, it's just a little truce between two hardcore businessmen."
His words made Sabina calm down but she was still worried with Timothy. She knew that Lucas would do anything just to annoy her fiancé. Her brother may have an ace against Lucas but Lucas also gained an ace against her.
The realization made her heart beat double time. She had to tell Timothy everything but first, she needs her brother's help.
"I'm getting married!" She blurted while she fished her engagement ring inside her purse inside pocket.
"WHAT?" The middle-aged lawyer choked with her sudden revelation. A long silence followed as the older brother tried to digest what he heard.
After seemed like eternity, the brother gained his voice. "I didn't know you two are serious." He admitted, uncertainties were evident in his handsome features.
The woman was quite offended with her brother's words. "I'm already 24 years old Jacob and I love him. I can't describe it but I know it's deep and sincere. I want him and only him." This time, her confession shocked the male Dela Vega.
From what he could observed, I was obvious that his little sister was really head over heels in love with the Sebastian lad. Suddenly, it felt like icy water was poured on the older man's body.
His grandmother, the lad's family and his father crossed the forefront of his mind.
"What's wrong?" His sister's voice sounded alarmed.
"Nothing, nothing. Don't mind me, I just remember something." He lied efficiently.
"When did this happen?" He asked abruptly to divert Sabina's attention.
A small smile appeared in the young biologist's face. "Last month, the day after we saw you. Oh my God, it was truly wonderful Jacob. Sweet and sincere." She gushed.
The lawyer's handsome face turned pensive and formal. "You really love him, don't you?" He asked even his inside was protesting. He didn't have the heart to break his little sister's happiness.
"Yes!" The petite biologist replied without missing a breath. A beautiful smile emerged from her lips as she darted her expressive eyes towards her older brother's solemn face.
The news made his mind traveled a decade ago to the time when the ecstatic woman in front of him was still a timid and shy young adolescent.
Still, he could almost hear her pleading voice, begging their own mother to severe the betrothal bond.
FLASHBACK
"Mama, por favor. No quiero casar sin embargo, todavia estoy demasiado joven. Quiero estudiar y obtener un titulo. Por favor, mama. Te amo y tanto como yo queria que obedener pero tengo suenos, por favor trata de enteder. Te lo ruego." Sabina begged. The news of her betrothal to a certain stranger was broken to her harshly by her own mother.
"Stop speaking in Spanish, it doesn't suit you! Trepador!" Antonia Dela Vega shouted angrily.
She pushed the tearful young girl roughly. "Ingrata! Bear in your small mind that this is part of who you are. This is one of your many responsibilities, an obligation to you family. I did mine years ago so it's your turn to do yours now." She continued in a vicious tone.
"But mama, I'm only fourteen. I still need to go to school and study." The young girl pleaded again.
The older woman sneered. "You can do that after you got married and don't use your age on this, you should know that it's irrelevant. Old or young, you will wed the young lad from Zambales." Her tone was unrelenting and irrevocable.
The young girl roamed her tearful sight around her. "Papa?" She mouthed but Don Luis Dela Vega looked resigned. He stared at his daughter pitifully but remained silent.
"Anton?" She tried to seek his help although she knew that it was a long shot. As expected, the eldest among the Dela Vega siblings just smirked maliciously and averted his gaze.
Slowly, the young lady sank on the floor and let out a cry of frustration and helplessness.
From his hiding place, Jacob hastily ran to aid his weeping sister. "Mama, how can you do this to her? She's your only daughter. Please!" The newcomer pleaded.
"Who needs a daughter that is weak and dumb." The older Dela Vega woman commented while the eldest of the twins sniggered.
"That enough, Antonia!" Another voice was heard from the doorway. It was fierce but kind. "You are talking non-sense. Let me remind you, she is your own flesh and blood." Dona Esperanza Dela Vega y Gonzalo declared loudly.
"You belittled her like she was nothing but here you are, pushing her to marry some stranger for your own sake, so that you can penetrate the upper society of the South. How could you!" The old woman berated her daughter in law, beyond caring that they were in front of her grandchildren.
"Simon Nicholas is not a stranger and moreover, Aria is a very lucky lady to have him as her husband. We all knew that this arrangement was too good to be true and this will be a saving grace for her so what are you yapping about?" She countered rudely.
The old woman blanched with the woman's words. Bile rose from her throat due to wrath and disgust. "Aria needs no saving. She's an intelligent and sensitive young lady and any man would be lucky and blessed to have her so don't speak as if she's a hopeless case or a detestable being. You should look at the mirror first before saying those words to your own child." The Dela Vega matriarch remarked bitingly.
Sabina's mother was unfazed. "Say whatever you want to say but I am still her mother and I have every right to do whatever I want."
An awful sob died on the lips of the young girl upon hearing her mother's final words.
"You should be ashamed, Antonia. You shouldn't call yourself a mother. And you Luis, por favor do something!" The matriarch added.
Antonia Dela Vega paid no heed to her mother in law's scathing comment instead she trained her venomous eyes towards her still bawling daughter. "Go to your room, Aria and stop crying, you imbecile!" She stood up and stormed out of the room.
Slowly, Jacob helped his sister up and guided her outside the room towards her bedroom. He whispered comforting words to her while they were walking.
"Am I a terrible person, Jacob? Am I really worthless and useless? Am I really weak and ugly?" She began to asked these horrible question while violent sobs rocked her petite frame.
Immediately, the Dela Vega lad felt repulsion and fury for his mother.
Aria is having doubts and uncertainties about herself because of her, the man thought.
He shook his head languidly. "No, no, of course not. Aria don't let mama's cruelty get into you. Haven't you heard abuela's words? You're intelligent and sensitive. And I wholeheartedly agree with her so please enough with those questions. I'm sure Mama will come around soon, give her time." He tried to reassure her sibling even though he knew that they were just empty words.
END OF FLASHBACK
The lawyer was pulled out of his dark musing with the sound of his sister's snapping fingers.
"Hey, you space out there!" She observed.
"Are you all right? Is everything all right?" She pried in a worried but sincere tone.
Sluggishly, the lawyer nodded his head. "I just remembered that one night, when you learned the news about your own betrothal." He stated in whole honestly.
Sabina face dropped and she grimaced. "Please, let's forget about that. I don't want to hear anything about that night." She annunciated lightly but inwardly, she readily felt the heaviness of her chest.
For almost a decade, she tried to forget what happened that night but the pain and the betrayal that she had felt during those numerous long minutes haven't eased or lessened at all. It felt like it just happened yesterday.
Shakily, she drew a deep breath and closed her eyes. These small movements weren't lost on Jacob. "I'm sorry. Forget that I mentioned that." He mouthed apologetically.
"When is the wedding and what are your plans?" He asked promptly to cover up his insensitivity.
"We haven't decided for a date yet but I want you all to be there on my wedding day although honestly, I don't know how am I going to do that especially with papa and Anton's cases. I know it's next to impossible but I wanted to try." She sighed. Hurt and anxiety were evident in her voice.
"Will you help me?" She added in a small voice.
The man didn't answer right away and the biologist knew that he was thinking deeply. But unknown to Sabina, her brother wasn't just thinking.
The lawyer was anxious about the history of the two families, unlike his sister, Jacob knew how dangerously the two families were intertwined. If only Sabina knew who Simon Nicholas was.
"Please?" She pleaded, worried that her brother was having second thoughts about helping her.
"Of course, Sab." These were the only words that came out of Jacob's mouth.
The petite lady gladly nodded her head. "I'm counting on you Jacob. Thank you." She muttered.
Suddenly, Dona Esperanza Dela Vega's image crossed the older sibling's thoughts. "But what about, abuela? Could I tell her about your recent engagement?" He asked as he tried to hide the qualms in his steady voice.
"Not yet. I wanted to tell her myself and I'm sure she will be happy for me." Sabina stated knowingly.
Another cloud of doubt passed through the middle-aged lawyer's demeanor but he courageously ignored it so as not to spoil his little sister's obvious happiness.
"Sure, Sab!"
∞∞∞
The next day, the young heir decided to go home and have dinner with his family. He needed to observe his mother because just like Sabina he also wanted to personally break the news of their engagement to them.
Timothy wanted to invite them to dine with him and Sabina, then tell them about his forthcoming wedding just like what other couples do.
As he walked to the mansion foyer, he noticed that house was so quiet so he hurriedly went to the kitchen to ask their household helpers.
"Where is everybody?" He asked their long time family driver, Mang Tony.
"Sir, I think they're in the study. Ma'am Darcy arrived few minutes ago and told them that she has a very important news so she called everyone to converge at the study." The old man explained.
Curious, the young heir hastily ran towards the study, he just opened the door when he heard Darcy's voice. "I'm telling you mama Bianca, that woman is a whore. I am sure that this man is her sugar daddy. The man reeked millions, from his watch to his suit and down to his shoes." The square-faced woman declared while showing the older woman bunch of photos. But the last statement didn't penetrate the young man's mind all he could hear were the words whore and sugar daddy.
Instantly, his blood boiled. Darcy was disseminating wrong information and false accusation about his fiancée again. But he didn't dare interrupt, instead he tried to listen more.
"Are you sure about this, my dear? We should inform Timothy about this immediately." Bianca Sebastian asked. Both the woman were still oblivious to Timothy's presence.
Darcy nodded her head vigorously. "Yes, mama. I paid an agent to follow Sabina everywhere she goes and take pictures of everything she does." She disclosed proudly.
This piece of information finally pushed Timothy to the edge, he knew how Sabina felt about being watched. "You what?" He roared as he strode towards the startled women. His face was ghostly pale and his hands were shaking due to extreme anger.
The duo blanched and winced at Timothy's outburst but the matriarch gained her wits back right away. "Theo, this is a pleasant surprise. You have to see these photos. Your girlfriend is obviously hiding something from you!" The older woman grabbed the photos from Darcy's hand and shoved them to her son's waiting hands.
One by one, Timothy examined the photos. They were pictures of Sabina from last night's dinner with her brother, Jacob. There were pictures of Jacob holding his sister's hand, of Jacob hugging his sister and of Jacob smiling at Sabina adoringly.
These photos clearly showed invasion of privacy and this made the young CEO angrier. "How dare you do this, Darcy!" He muttered under his breath.
"This is insane! Are you out of your mind? Are you this desperate?" Timothy shouted as he gripped the younger woman's upper arm.
Darcy flinched in fear. "You're hurting me, Tim." She mumbled agitatedly.
Readily, Bianca Sebastian intervened. She too, was a bit afraid of her son's reaction, this was the first time she saw her son acting this way. "Theo, let go of her. You'll bruise her arm." She ordered in a quivering voice.
As a response, the young man released Darcy's upper arm roughly. "Ma? Are you part of this?" He asked in a controlled voice.
"No, no. I just saw this a while ago." She stated, Timothy roamed his eye sight around the room and noticed that his father and Margaret were nowhere to be found.
This brought a small relief on the young heir. He knew that if this little stunt reached Diego Sebastian's knowledge, Darcy will surely be needing a lawyer.
"But should you be extremely thankful to my dear Darcy? She caught your good-for-nothing girlfriend red handedly." The matriarch added in a tentative voice.
"Ma!" Again, Timothy shouted.
"This man is her brother, are you two blind? Can't you see the resemblance between them?" He shoved some photos to Darcy's face and some to his mother's hand.
Quietly, Timothy watched as realization dawned on the women. Shamefully, Darcy apologized. "I'm sorry."
"You don't owe me any apology, if you're really sorry then apologize to Sabina." He suggested.
"Darcy will do no such thing. She said she was sorry and that's enough." Bianca Sebastian admonished.
The young heir wanted to avoid further conflict with his mother due to his impending announcement of his engagement to Sabina so he said nothing. But it was different for Darcy.
He shifted and came face to face with Darcy Madrid. "This will be the last time Darcy. The moment you do something bad or violent against Sabina again, I will sue you and I will not stop until I see you in prison. Do you understand?" He asked in a cold tone but the woman in question stayed mum.
"Do you understand?" He shouted. Shakily, Darcy nodded her head while the matriarch winced but she too, remained silent.
"I need an answer. Do you understand?" He yelled again, face still pale with anger.
"Yes, Tim." The square-faced woman responded fearfully.
"As for you, Ma. Don't believe in everything Darcy says, okay? If you take part in something like this, I'm telling papa." He said threateningly.